Dark Heart
by Schlitz-Kehle
Summary: A sequel to Permanent Prophecy  Kid is suffering with himself, alone, in the darkness, afraid to become a monster. Maka doesn't believe he is gone, and sees him in her head, but soon sees glimpses of him out in public. She senses the soul.Is it a kishin?
1. Prologue The Awakening

**As "Promised" I have decided that I'll begin a sequel. ^^ Hope you enjoyed it as much as the last.**

There are as much angels of the life you're given as well as the gods of the death bestowed upon you...

…And he met it somewhere half-way.

A teenage boy clawed at the hard surface above him, gasping for air. His fingertips were bloodied and torn and he felt his lungs scream at him for air.

He growled and screwed his eyes shut, trying to scream.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" He continued to claw, unable to breathe.

He forced himself to calm down so he wasn't breathing so hard, so he can contain more air in the space he was in. He bit his lower lip and flinched in surprise when he felt like he was being tugged upward still within the dark space.

He squinted his eyes when the lid of his coffin opened up, and he saw the moonlight. He looked above him and saw Stein, Death, and Spirit staring back down at him.

He raised his eyebrows in confusion when he saw the grave markers around him and the coffin he laid in.

"Where am I…?"

Spirit smiled and held his hand out to him.

"Welcome back from the land of the dead, Kid…"

Kid started shaking, his eyes going wide.

"D-dead...? I thought….I thought it was all a dream…"

Death looked down at his son.

"Kid… there's more to this than waking up… more that we have to explain to you…"

Kid slowly took Spirit's hand in his, and Spirit tugged him out of the coffin, his legs wobbling.

"Nghh! Ahhhh…."He hissed through his teeth in pain, stroking his legs. "Damn…."

Stein chuckled.

"Walking again will take a long time to get used to… you've been lying in the same position for a long time…"

Kid raised an eyebrow and limped up to him, gripping a fistful of the front of his shirt.

"I need an explanation….what the hell happened to me? How did I get here? And where is Maka…?"

Stein cast Death a brief sideways glance before he looked back at Kid.

"At least let us take you out of the cold and before someone sees you…"

For a moment, Kid spaced out, and then he nodded, closing his eyes.

"I'm tired…" He leaned against him and Death slapped him awake.

Kid gasped and fell back into his coffin.

"Gahh! What the hell was that for?"

Death stared down at him.

"We can't have you falling asleep for the next twenty four hours or else you might return to being a corpse. Understood?"

Kid nodded and climbed out of the coffin, still wobbly, and began to walk with Stein and Death as Spirit stayed and re-buried his coffin.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Dwma.

Kid stood directly in front of it, staring up at it with narrowed eyes as his raven colored hair blew along in the wind across his face.

"Come along…" Death lightly nudged his arm, knocking Kid out of his 'trance'.

Kid looked down at his feet and walked along up the stairs with the support of Death and Stein on either side of him.

The night was quiet, and things were being repaired from the battle, by the looks of it.

Kid sighed, still tired, and looked up at his father.

"So when can I see her…? Maka?"

Death sighed as well and looked away.

"Not for a while yet…"

"What? What do you mean?" Hurt filled Kid's voice and Death felt guilt on his shoulders.

"Kid… You're different from the way you used to be…"

They made it inside and walked down the hall to the Death Room.

"Am I a zombie? Like Sid?"

Stein laughed a little and Kid glared at him slightly.

"No, you aren't. Kid, You have black-blood coursing through you."

Kid's eyes widened and before he can speak, Death interrupted.

"We studied Medusa's experiments on Crona and conducted a similar operation on you. You don't have a weapon inside of you, of course not, but your blood turns solid once it hits air."

Kid remained silent until they went inside the Death Room, which was unusually dark, and lit with candles.

Kid saw his reflection standing in the mirror and gasped, his eyes growing wider. He ran to it and tried to smear the surface, as if it was dirty and he was just seeing things.

His breathing became heavy and his eyes filled with tears.

His eyes were red, he had sharp teeth, it looked like he was wearing eyeliner, and his skin was white; like paper.

Kid turned to Stein and Death, backing up into the mirror.

"What did you do to me…?" He barely managed to whisper, shaking in fear.

Stein stepped forward and Kid screamed, screwing his eyes shut.

"Get away from me! Don't touch me!"

Stein froze, and Kid slid down the mirror, propping his elbows on his knees, and cupped his face, sobbing into them quietly.

Death stared at him with the golden eyes his son used to have and looked away.

"_Oh, Kid…"_


	2. Chapter 1 Beauty and Cruelty

Maka's eyes snapped open, feeling discomfort in her sleep.

She felt the space beside her for Kid, as if it were just all a bad dream, and her eyes closed when she felt no one.

That's when there was a knock on her bedroom door. She shot up in a bed, looking at her door with hope shimmering in her emerald eyes.

"Maka? It's Patty."

Maka's shoulders sagged and she sighed sadly, looking away from the door.

"Come in…" She sounded as if she hadn't spoken in a long time.

Patty stepped inside in giraffe pajamas and she held a wrapped box with a bow on top.

She sat down in front of her on the bed and handed her the present.

Maka giggled slightly, but didn't smile as she did it, as if her face was glued in place.

"Patricia… Christmas isn't for another week."

Patty offered a small smile.

"Just open it, Maka. I think you deserve to open your present earlier than all of the other kids."

Maka lightly fingered the gift that she was given before she lifted up the flaps, delicately taking it off.

Patty raised an eyebrow, confused with Maka for she usually ripped it open.

Maka sighed, looking at the paper she unwrapped from the package before she set it down.

"Perfect… just the way he likes it…"

Patty frowned and looked down at her crossed legs.

"_Oh… that's how Kid opened his presents…"_

Maka noticed Patty's dazed state and pat her shoulder before looking down at her present.

Her eyes widened.

It wasn't like the books she always got, or brand new pale yellow vests.

She lifted up a silver necklace with the shinigami symbol as the charm that adorned it. On the skull, there was a metallic rose above it with an onyx jewel in the middle of it.

"Patty… This looks expensive…" She gasped, staring at it in wonder.

Patty looked up at her and giggled a little.

"Want me to help you put it on?"

Maka blinked and looked back at her.

"Y-Yeah….sure…."

Patty grasped the necklace gently and scooted behind her, clasping it around her neck.

Maka looked down at the charm, moving it from front to back delicately.

Patty scooted back in front of her and took the box it came in.

"Want me to take the wrapping paper too?"

Maka nodded and Patty picked that up too, careful not to damage it for it might upset Maka if she did.

"Hope you enjoy your present, Maka! And school is gonna start soon!" She hopped off the bed and ran out to her bedroom.

Maka flopped backward in bed and checked her wrist for Kid's tie, hoping she didn't lose it somewhere in Death City like last time. She found it and sighed in relief, pressing it to her chest over her heart.

It still smelt of him…

She began to shake and covered her eyes with her other arm, sobbing quietly.

Patty was all dressed and stopped in front of the doorway to find Maka like that and walked into the bedroom.

"Maka…?"

She sat up, wiping her tears and got out of bed.

"I-I'm gonna get ready, don't worry. Wait for me downstairs."

Patty simply nodded and ran out of the room.

Maka looked in the mirror to see dark circles under her eyes.

She hasn't been able to sleep peacefully since Kid's funeral, tossing and turning in bed, just hoping that he wasn't dead as it had appeared.

She looked away from the mirror and got ready for school.

…:oOo:…

Spirit walked out of a holding cell similar to Medusa's in the corridors of the basement below the Dwma. Stein walked up to him with an unlit cigarette propped up in his mouth and one hand in his coat pocket.

"How is he doing?"

Spirit took a deep breath and looked up at him, shaking his head from side to side.

"He keeps wanting to see Maka, and he's being difficult… he just can't process that he can't see her ever again."

Stein raised an eyebrow.

"That's harsh, Spirit. Leave the poor boy alone and get anger management classes because it's not just you."

He walked past Spirit and entered Kid's cell.

Kid sat silently on the bed he was given, his crimson eyes seeming to glow in the slight darkness of the room.

Without looking up, he spoke.

"Stein… am I a kishin…?"

Stein was taken aback by the question and the cigarette fell out of his mouth.

"What? Of course not!"

Kid clenched his fists and grit his teeth.

"Then why are my eyes red? Why are my teeth sharp? And why is my blood black?"

Stein sighed and sat next to him.

"Kiddo… you know why you have black blood. Red eyes and sharp teeth are just a trademark from the world of the undead; they'll go away in a few years."

"So I can't see Maka for that long?" His voice cracked and he began to shake, lowering his head. "Spirit said I wasn't able to see her ever again…"

Stein itched his head, trying to come up with something gentler.

"Well…"

Kid growled and hunched his shoulders.

"What he said was true, wasn't it?"

"Kid, I-"

Kid snapped and slammed Stein against the wall by the front of his shirt, roaring in anger as he wrapped his hands around Stein's neck.

Stein gasped for air, his eyes fluttering.

Spirit ran through the door, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Kid!"

He tried to pull Kid away from Stein, but Kid only backhanded him viciously across the face.

Spirit stumbled back, clutching his jaw, and fell to the floor.

Kid turned back to Stein and realized what he was about to do.

He let go of him quickly and backed away with his face in his hands.

"Hakase…I…"

Stein coughed, wheezing for air, and rubbed his neck.

"Kid…?"

Kid's back hit the wall and he smacked the back of his head against it lightly.

"Are you sure… that I'm not a kishin…?"

Spirit and Stein just stared at him for a while, catching their breaths.

Spirit turned towards Stein.

"Professor, I think you may have a class to teach."

Stein simply nodded, not taking his eyes off Kid, and ran out of the room, finding a new fear within him for the raven haired boy in the cell.

Spirit slowly stood up to his feet, pointing a shaking finger at Kid.

"As for you… your father will definitely hear about this…" He stormed out of the cell and slammed the door, locking it.

Kid slid down the wall, laid down onto the cold, hard floor, and closed his dull eyes.

…:oOo:…

Maka walked into the classroom with her books held close to her chest and Patty at her side.

She looked around at the students around her with a sigh.

They were laughing, gossiping, or throwing paper airplanes around the classroom. Everyone was together with their weapon partners.

Maka lowered her gaze to the ground, trying not to cry and make a scene.

Patty skipped up to her, saw her expression, and pat her shoulder comfortingly.

"Everything is gonna be okay, Maka…"

Maka sniffled, wiped her nose, and nodded slowly, sitting down in her seat with Patty next to her.

"Students, sit down in your seats or you'll stay after class and write a twelve page essay about the fundamentals of dissection." Stein said as he walked into the classroom, holding an icepack to his neck.

Everyone quickly ran to the closest seat and sat, pulling out their books and notebooks to prepare before the bell rang.

Maka didn't look up at him as she pulled out her own supplies.

Stein looked up at Maka, seeing her unusual dull nature, and frowned in sympathy, guilt clenching his gut.

After all, he did know something she didn't. Something that he knew she dreamed of constantly since Kid's death.

He looked down at the ground, setting the icepack on his desk.

A student in the front raised his hand.

"Sensei, what happened to your neck?"

Maka sensed that Patty leaned forward in her seat, and heard her gasp.

Maka slowly looked up, blinking. She saw perfect red marks hands could create, and her emerald eyes widened.

Stein saw her looking at him and paled, quickly looking away from the students with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh? This? I made Lord Death angry and he did more than Death chop me…."

Maka raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you make him angry, exactly…?"

Stein took in a sharp breath, trying to wrack his crazy genius mind for something clever.

He walked up to the board, turning from the class, and began to draw a diagram of a kishin soul on the board, labeling parts of it and the nutrients it had in it.

"I was caught trying to dissect your father in the hallway. His shrieking was really high and echoed through the halls."

A few students turned towards Maka and snickered a little bit.

Maka blushed in embarrassment, furrowing her eyebrows in stress.

"Oh…"

Stein sighed relief under his breath, setting down the chalk.

"Now… take out your textbooks and let's get started…"

For most of the class period, Maka spaced out, staring at the textbook in front of her as Stein taught.

"_Lord Death isn't known to choke the Dwma's teachers… he just Death chops them and that's it… Even if Stein did try to dissect that idiot of a father of mine… he'd probably just laugh it off and pat Stein's back in encouragement…"_

"Maka, can you please step up and label which part of the soul holds vitamin D?"

Maka flinched in surprise, raising her gaze at Stein.

"Alright…" She slowly stood up, shaking slightly as the students turned to watch her. "I-I guess…." She tromped down the steps and up to the chalkboard, not looking back at the class despite that she felt their eyes on her back.

She took a deep breath and lifted up her stick of chalk up to the board.

She drew an arrow pointing to the outside layer of the soul and labeled the arrow 'Vitamin D'. After that, she turned towards Stein, digging her nails into her palms when she knew everyone was still watching her.

Stein sighed and shook his head from side to side.

"Maka… For once you are incorrect."

Maka flinched when she heard the last word and her eyes widened.

"Wh…What…?"

The class gasped in surprise, their eyes going wide as well.

Patty put her face in her hands.

"_Oh, Maka…"_

Stein also seemed to be in shock and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Good try though… you may return to your seat."

Maka looked down at the ground, embarrassed, and walked up to her seat as fast as she could.

Once she sat down, she heard a few students nearby begin to talk, and caught snippets of their conversation.

"_Ever since Kid died, she's been acting strange…"_

"… _Rumors are that she's going insane with madness from the battle…"_

"…_Who wouldn't be different after losing those closest to them?"_

Maka closed her eyes, hating the fact of being the talk of the school, and resisted the urge to cry again, feeling that it wasn't the time for the tears and that it was weak.

A few minutes later, the final bell rang, and Maka shot up, bolting out of the classroom as fast as she could.

Patty gasped, reaching an arm out to her despite the distance.

"Maka!"

When Maka turned the corner, Patty's shoulders sagged and she lowered her head.

"Hmm…"

As Maka passed students, she heard her name a few times and some students even tried to get her attention. Without warning, her tears began to flow again and she practically threw herself into the girl's bathroom, slamming up against the sink with heavy breathing.

Biting her lower lip, she slowly looked up at the mirror to see her reflection. Her sandy blond pigtails were frizzy and uneven and her eyes were puffy and red from crying too much.

Gripping the ends of the sink, she screwed her eyes shut and let out a strangled scream, slamming up against the wall beside her, and sliding down to the floor.

…:oOo:…

Kid sat in his room for a while more, hearing the school bell ring above and the hurried footsteps of students.

"_Which set of footsteps belong to Maka…? Did she attend today?"_

He clenched a fistful of the front of his shirt over his heart, trying to ease the overwhelming pain of knowing he'll be locked up forever like a caged animal in a zoo. Knowing that he'll never see the face of his beloved Maka again…

Kid's head shot up when the cell door to his cell opened, and Spirit and Death walked in, Death's hood down, and his mask in his hands. Kid right away can tell that they meant serious business.

Kid slowly stood up from the end of his bed and Spirit tugged him towards him with menacing force, and he felt Spirit shackle his hands behind him.

Kid let out a scream and he looked at his father with wide confused eyes.

"Father! What is he doing to me? You couldn't be okay with this!"

Death looked away.

"Kid… You hurt without a single thought in your head… I'm sorry… but you'll be kept in a more special cell until you gain control."

Kid's eyes filled with tears of betrayal.

"B-but… I….I didn't mean to! I won't do it ever again, I swear! Please! Leave me here! Give me a second chance!"

Death clenched his fists and clenched his teeth.

"Enough, Kid…" He growled.

Kid was too shocked to speak. Spirit gently pushed Kid out of his old cell and into the darkened corridors, Death following behind. Kid bit his lower lip as his tears rolled down his face, tasting the bitter salt on his lips. Spirit opened up a cell door at the farthest end of the hall; at a dead end.

Death opened the door and Spirit shoved Kid inside with brutal force and a slight look of hatred in his eyes.

Kid slammed against the rock wall, grunting in pain, and slid down to the floor in a heap. Coughing up a little blood onto the cold pavement floor, Kid raised his gaze to look up into his father's golden eyes.

"Father… how… could you…?"

Death's jaw went slack and his eyes filled with guilt just as Spirit slammed the door shut. Dim light shined in through the door slot from the torches outside the icy, empty cell.

Kid pulled his knees up to his chest, shaking slightly.

"_What am I…?"_

**Hope you liked this first chapter! XD**


	3. Chapter 2 A Care in the World

A week has passed since Kid's inprisonment. He sat silently,

listening to the muffled sounds of rainfall outside. The hard

cement floor and walls were freezing cold; winter snow was

nearly upon Death City. Shivering with clattering teeth, Kid

stood up, his hands still shackled behind his back. His

shoulders were sore, and his stomach painfully growled for

food. He hasn't eaten or moved since he was thrown in this

blasted cell. That's when he heard footsteps outside his cell

and he froze. The door to his cell slowly slid open, and Kid

squinted his crimson eyes against the torchlight. Marie

stepped in, paling when she saw him.

"Kid!" She looked as if she were about to faint. "What Stein

said was true..." She staggered, holding a hand to her

forehead.

Kid watched in slight amusement when she tried to gather it

all in.

"Yes Marie, it's me. Did he tell anyone else?"

She weakly shook her blond haired head.

"No... But he's planning on telling Sid..."

Kid shrugged, ignoring the pain that rippled across his shoulders.

"May you take me out of these please? My wrists are so sore..."

Marie nodded and withdrew a skeleton key. Kid made his way to her and she unlocked the shackles; they clattered to the floor. Kid felt the pain in his shoulders subside and rubbed the place where his wrist connected to his hand.

"Thank you... But why did you come by?"

Marie tried not to stare at Kid's new features, palying with her fingers.

"Stein wanted to see you. He would like to check up on your progress."

He sighed, straightening up.

"Fair enough..."

Marie took a hold of his arm in case he tried to escape and led him out of the cell.

"What time of day is it?" Kid asked calmly.

"Night." Marie answered.

"Is this the only time everyone will be seeing me?"

"Yes. We can't risk the chances of you being seen, Kiddo."

Kid clenched his fists as an image of Maka flitted across his mind.

"Please... Don't call me that..."

He looked down at the ground blankly, figuring he should get used to being walked from the cell to the Death Room.

"...Kid?"

"Hmm?" His eyes snapped up to look at her. She looked at him in worry.

"How can you live in those clothes? They're absoulutely filthy!"

Kid looked down at his attire, seeing rips and dirt all over it. It was asymmetrical, but surprisingly, he didn't seem to care.

"...Clothes are clothes, Miss Marie. It's better than nothing at all..."

Marie's eyes widened.

"B-But... They're..."

"Asymmetrical? Yes, I am well aware of that..."

"Why aren't you freaking out? Not that I want you to, it's just... unusual for you."

"You really want to know?" Anger rose in his voice. "Because symmetry only gets you killed. I fell for it's unatural beauty, and now look where it got me. An undead mess. A monstrosity, walking down the halls that I once felt comfort within, but now, it's like I'm in a living nightmarish hell. Hell, I can't even ever see the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with ever again..." He chuckled darkly. "... How ironic. I don't even have a damned life anymore..."

Marie was speechless, staring at him with wide eyes. Kid was on the brim of tears.

"I would do anything... _Sacrifice_ anything... Just to see her one last time... I want to see her smile, so I can smile too..."

Marie looked away, feeling a pit of sadness rise within her for the poor undead shinigami hybrid at her side. She walked up the stairs out of the underground corridors and led Kid up into the class corridors. Kid bit his lower lip, looking around the now alien school through new eyes.

"Marie, Will I go to classes at night?"

Marie was caught off guard by his new attitude.

"Well, I... I have no idea... You'll have to talk to your father about that, Kid. Something like that can put our secret in jeopardy."

Kid nodded.

"I know, but it'll make me feel more normal."

They stopped in front of the Death Room. Marie pushed open the doors. Kid was led inside and he looked up at the sky ceiling, which was now dark, and littered with sparkly milky ways that spun slowly.

In the middle of the room stood Death with his hood and mask off, and Stein, who was setting up his measuring equipment. Both of their backs were faced to them. Kid raised an eyebrow, feeling hatred rise up within the very dark tattered edges of his heart.

"Hey Hakase... How is your neck coming along?" he mocked in an unusually cruel tone.

Stein and Death quickly looked over their shoulders at them, and Stein's pale green eyes briefly filled with fear when he saw Kid.

"Thank you, Marie... you may go back home now..." Marie nodded and gave Kid a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"Nice seeing you again, Kid." She turned and walked out, shutting the large double doors behind her.

Kid crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to look at them.

"Well? What other things are you two bastards planning to do to cause me pain?"

Stein sighed and fully turned to face him, putting his hands into the pockets of his labcoat.

"Kid... I'm sorry for angering you a few days ago... I shouldn't have said something like that."

Kid chuckled in disbelief, not believing a word.

"Hmm... Sure... I'll believe it when I see your corpse."

Death growled.

"Kid! Now is not the time... We'll sort that out later, alright? Now, go to Stein."

Kid sighed irritably, but obeyed. Stein motioned to the scale, and Kid stepped onto it. Stein withdrew a small notebook and recorded the data. Death watched silently.

"Good, good... you aren't too overweight or too underweight... Please straighten up for me and step off."

Kid stepped off without a word and tried to stand as straight as he could while Stein measured his height with a tape measure. After he recorded the data, he wrapped the measure around his waist while Kid rose his arms on either side of him.

"Excellent... you're making good progress."

Stein withdrew the measuring tape from Kid's torso and put it in one of his coat pockets. He studied Kid up and down, thinking.

"We should get you new clothes, Kid."

"No shit."

Death's eyes flickered to him.

"Language..." He warned.

Stein wordlessly walked up to Death and went over the results with him.

"He's getting stronger and he is at a healthy size. He even grew a few inches taller."

Death nodded and smiled a little.

"Great! It's good to know that the reviving process didn't malfunction and mess up his system. He's still a growing boy, y'know."

Stein chuckled.

"I know that. I'll check up on him again next week. Goodnight." He turned to Kid. "And you too." He turned and walked out, not before organizing his measuring equipment. Kid watched after him as he walked out and when the doors squeaked shut, he slowly turned to his father, who was looking at him.

"Father... I'm...so sorry for acting like I did."

Death ruffled Kid's hair and smiled.

"It's fine... you were just angry, and you needed to get rid of it somehow."

Kid smiled slightly in return and put his hands in his pockets, the smile fading almost instantaneously.

"May I talk to you about something?"

"Yes you may, anytime."

Kid looked into his father's eyes.

"Me and Marie were talking on the way over here and I was wondering if..." He felt the dark feelings in his heart tremble nervously, and looked down at the ground he stood on. "If I can possibly have night classes. It would make me feel more alive... But, you don't have to consider it, it was just an idea I had..."

Death thought it over and silence passed through them.

"Of course, Kid. Sid and Marie will probably feel up to being your private teachers, but Stein needs his rest for he teaches early in the morning. I will speak with them tomorrow morning, and if they agree, I will send down Marie with a new change of clothes for you."

Kid's eyes widened, and his heart was stabbed with a little sliver of warm happiness.

"Really? You'd do that for me?"

Death nodded and smiled widely.

"I owe you that much."

Kid then began to cry his mixed feelings out from dark eyes. He felt happy, but that was overpowered by sorrow, loss, hate, and anger...

"Thank you, father. Thank you so much..." He whispered.


	4. Chapter 3 The Nightmare and the Session

The next night, Maka was shivering in bed, gripping the bedsheets tightly as she slept; her knuckles bone white.

"Nnn... No... Please..." She mumbled.

Patty sat up in her own bed, her stuffed giraffe in her lap. She closed her eyes, trying to keep quiet so she can determine whether or not that Maka was having nightmares.

Maka panted, furrowing her eyebrows in fear.

"Don't... Please... Stop..."

_Behind Maka's tainted eyelids, Kid was running across a gruesome battlefield, his back to Maka. But she can tell it was him. She ran after him, gunshots, metal clanging, and screams filling the icy cold night air around them._

"_Kiddo-Kun! Please stop! You're going to get yourself killed!"_

_Kid ran on and on, as if Maka was the enemy he should run away from._

"_Stop this! Don't leave me here, Kid!"_

_That's when Kid stopped running and froze, standing there motionlessly. Maka sighed in relief and almost caught up to him when two kishin soldiers grabbed her arms, lifting her off the ground and tugging her backwards painfully._

_Screaming in surprise, she tried to struggle out of their clutches. But it seemed as if all of her raging strength was drained from her now fragile body. She looked up quickly to see Kid turn, and her screams caught in her throat, her eyes widening. One of the kishins who held her pressed a knife against her throat while the other held her in place._

_Afraid to swallow, she screamed once more, her voice echoing throughout the entire battlefield._

"_KID!"_

_Kid flinched as if he had just acknowledged that Maka was there and he looked down at the ground with no emotion. Blood dripped down his pale face from an unknown source and his pure golden eyes flickered brightly from the snarling flame around them. He was beautiful. It was as if angels had carved him out of glass. _

"_Maka..." His voice was smooth, as if it were made of velvet. "...I can't. I'm Sorry."_

_Betrayal crossed over Maka's face as she heard those words and she paled._

"_Kid... Why...?" Her lips trembled slightly._

_A figure of darkness walked behind Kid and set their hands on his shoulders._

"_He can't hear you, Albarn... Your screaming is useless to everyone around you..." _

_That voice was so familiar... _

_The figure giggled mockingly and wrapped their arms around Kid, as if he were just a precious object._

"_Oh... How this hurts my feelings...Who can blame you for forgetting me...? I did, after all, kill all of your loved ones..." _

_Maka gathered it all in and felt anger and hatred rise up within her chest. Valencia slid a hand up Kid's chest and over his eyes, his expression not changing in the slightest._

"_Let him go!" She growled, kicking her feet uselessly, her legs dangling like a useless rag doll in midair._

_Valencia smiled and raised an eyebrow._

"_But that wouldn't be fun... Before I let them leeches behind you drain you of your soul, I would like to give you a little show..."_

_Maka clenched her fists tightly, kicking her feet more frantically._

"_No! Please! Don't touch him, or I'll-!"_

_Valencia's voice held amusement as she interrupted the screaming Albarn._

"_Or you'll what? Kill me?"_

_With a small gesture from Valencia, the kishin soldiers gripped Maka's arms more firmly, the knife placed coldly against her skin. _

_It was as if those who were fighting around them didn't acknowledge their presences at all._

_Valencia dug her long black fingernails into Kid's face and he let out a piercing scream._

"_Maka!"_

_Maka screamed loudly, trying as hard as she could to be released from the vice grip on her arms._

"_Kid! Valencia, stop!"_

_Valencia removed her hand from Kid's face and Kid was shaking in pain as the fresh wounds on his face dripped venom and blood._

"_Such a pathetic boy..." _

_Maka's eyes grew cold and she grit her teeth. How dare Valencia say such things about her Kid..._

"_He isn't pathetic, you cold bitch!" Maka yelled at her with a slight growl in her voice._

_Valencia smirked._

"_Then why isn't he fighting for his life? For you?" She thrust one of her hands behind Kid and it went through his back and stuck out through his chest. Maka's heart twisted in shock. Kid's eyes widened in pain and he lowered his head slowly to look at the bloodied hand that was through his chest. He gurgled and blood splurted out like a waterfall from his mouth and down his chin. His eyelids fluttered and his head lolled to the side._

_Maka shrieked._

"_NOO!"_

_Valencia threw her head back and barked out wicked laughter as Maka teared up heavily and her heart shattered into zillions of pieces in her chest. Valencia curled her nailed fingers and withdrew her hand with a sickening crack, blood soaking the front of Kid's chest and seeping through his torn white dress shirt like a contagious cancer._

_Kid shook as his heart beat slower and slower, his body panicking as his end was near. He fell to his knees and closed his eyes, falling backward against his mother's legs. Valencia grinned demonically and reached down to rest a hand on one of his shoulders._

_Maka closed her eyes tightly, gritting her teeth until they bled._

"_Kill me... This couldn't be happening..."_

_When she reopened her eyes Kid stood directly in front of her, his once golden eyes a dark shade of crimson._

"_It already did."_

Maka's eyes snapped open and she screamed.

"No!" She grabbed a nearby pillow and smothered her tear filled eyes with it. "Kid!"

Patty shot up out of bed and ran down the hall to Maka's room as fast she could. Since she moved in with her, Maka has been having numerous nightmares about different ways Kid would die. And he was killed over and over in front of Maka in the most brutal ways. Patty had moved in with her for a purpose- to protect her from doing anything reckless, like suicide for one, and to be there for her like Liz was for herself. She still felt Liz's soul within Maka, and it brought her blissful comfort. Patty charged in through the door with concern filled eyes, seeing Maka shaking and whimpering into the pillow.

"Kid..." She whispered with a slight sniffle. "...I miss him so much..."

Patty frowned and sat down gently next to Maka on the bed, running her fingers through Maka's unkempt blond hair lightly.

"I know, Maka... I know..."

…:oOo:...

Kid stood up from the floor of his cell when he heard footsteps approach. He wiped at his eyes with dirty hands and yawned quietly. He hadn't slept so well during the day; student's footsteps and chatter became quite a nuisance. Marie stood in front of his cell door and slid it open. Under one arm, she carried a change of clothes. Kid bit his tongue. They were white. Oh, how he hated that pure, pale abomination...

But he was grateful. He smiled slightly and nodded his greetings to Marie.

"Good evening, Marie-san. Did you go through any trouble finding those clothes?"

Marie tried not to stare and shook her head, handing the clothes to him.

"No... no trouble at all... Stein used to wear those when he was your age and he decided to pass them down to you."

Kid scrunched up his nose in disgust, staring at the clothes that adorned stitches.

Now he just hated the color white a tad more...

He sighed and looked back up at her.

"They will do."

Marie smiled warmly and slid the door shut so he can have his privacy. Kid looked back down at his new clothes and sighed again, setting them off to the side so he can have more room to remove the dirt-filled clothing. Once that was through, he slid on Stein's clothes from the old days. As he threw the shirt on over his head, he felt the metallic stitches brush against his face, the coolness they conducted sending a massive chill down his spine.

He straightened out the new clothes and neatly folded the old ones, putting them in the corner. He knocked on the door and Marie opened it back up. When she saw him, her eyes widened.

"Do they fit okay...?"

Kid nodded.

"They're a perfect fit."

Marie giggled nervously, itching the back of her head.

"If it weren't for the hair, I would've thought you were Stein."

She also would've thought she'd be yelled at again, like last time, but to her surprise, Kid burst out in insane laughter, imitating Stein.

Soon, Marie began to laugh too.

"Come on, joker, let's get you to class."

With a slightly smug smile, he walked beside Marie down the corridors and up to the corridors above. Kid's eyes adjusted to the slight brightness despite that there were no lights on, but the moon shined through the windows.

"Marie, did you see Maka today? How is she?" Kid asked casually.

Marie didn't even glance at him and sighed.

"I did see your Maka, but..."

Kid's eyes grew sharp and they snapped to look at her.

"...but?"

Marie paled and she stuttered.

"K-Kid... Please calm down."

He breathed in and out evenly and looked away, his eyes returning to their blank state.

"Alright. Please continue."

Marie smoothed out the front of her skirt, trying not to look him in the eye.

"She's been depressed... and her grades are dropping dramatically. But no need to worry... Patty is taking care of her."

Kid furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

"...Damn." He tried not to snap and his body shook with the effort.

Marie walked him into Stein's classroom, where Stein just finished gathering his paperwork. He looked up at Kid and smiled slightly, seeing himself as a teenager. But seeing how Kid looked, his smile faded and his pushed his swirly chair in, walking up to Marie.

"What did you just say to him...?" He whispered quietly, but Kid could still hear.

Marie gulped and gripped her hands together nervously.

"Well... I..."

Stein chuckled and lightly pecked her on the cheek, causing her to blush.

"Don't act nervous;we can talk about this when we get home, alright?"

Marie nodded.

"Sounds fine by me. Goodbye, Franken."

Stein looked over at Kid.

"Goodnight, Kid."

Kid mumbled his goodnight in return and Stein smiled, walking past them and out the door.

Kid walked up to a seat in the front and sat down as Marie walked to the front of the classroom.

Let class begin...


	5. Chapter 4 First Night, First Sight

Kid wrote the science terms Marie had written on the board in the notebook he was given shortly after the night class began. But his thoughts were on other matters...

"Kid."

He flinched when the silence was broken, and looked up at Marie, who was staring straight at him.

"Your teachings with me are over for tonight."

Kid stood up and closed the notebook quietly. Marie walked up to him with a light smile.

"I'll escort you outside to Sid."

Kid raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Outside? But..."

"No one will see you, Kid. Sid wouldn't allow it."

The two walked out of the classroom and down the hall.

"Is Sid going to teach me anything besides gym?"

Marie nodded.

"Yes, but sadly, I forget very easily." She laughed at herself.

Kid looked away, his expression grim.

"...Too many subjects? How lovely..."

Marie laughed even more and gave Kid a reassuring glance.

"No; he has less than I. It's just that I haven't looked into Sid's teaching field much."

"...oh."

A few minutes of utter silence later, Marie opened the back doors of the Dwma that led to the outside.

"I didn't even know there were back doors until I was told to teach you."

Kid stepped outside and looked at Marie over his shoulder.

"Thanks for escorting me, Miss Marie. I appreciate it."

Marie's eyes widened and she couldn't find any words to speak with. So she just nodded in return, turned, and closed the doors behind her. Kid then looked around, searching for the blue-skinned zombie teacher. Then all of a sudden, he heard something approaching him from above. Before he could see what it was, he rolled out of the way just as the unidentified object crashed to the ground. Dirt and pieces of cement flew everywhere from where it landed. Blinking away the dirt in his eyes, Kid looked up to see Sid towering over him. Sid laughed and offered Kid a monstrous hand.

"Glad to see your senses are still keen. Back when I was alive, I was always a man to test people. That was the kind of man I was."

With a nervous chuckle, Kid gripped a hold of Sid's hand, being pulled up to his feet. Just as he was standing, Sid turned and lifted an article of clothing off the ground, dusting it off.

"Here you go, Kid. It will help you blend in more in the dark." He handed it to Kid, who observed it once it was in his hands. It was the cloak he had used on missions in the past. Like killing the black dragon and stopping the train in the desert. He smiled slightly as he remembered and gave Sid an appreciative smile as he slipped it on, pulling up the hood right away. He was outside, after all. He needed to blend in.

Kid knew the drill from when he was still breathing; when he had normal classes like all the other Shibusen students.

"_Run around the Dwma four times. If you collapse, you slow to a walk, or stop at all, your whole class will be forced to run an extra four. If you have a problem with that, you can have a word with Lord Death in the Death Room about it. But __I can guarantee everyone of you won't stand a chance." _Sid's orders echoed throughout his head and he charged forward, running as fast as he could around the Dwma. He remembered what it was like. In his mind, he could see Black*Star tripping Soul behind him, eager to be the fastest. He could also see Liz trying to catch up with a giggling Patty. Tsubaki had already finished and she was stretching, having a conversation with Nygus.

And then there was Maka. She ran as fast as she could, panting, but she always managed to pass him somehow.

Kid soon ran all four laps and stood back in front of Sid, feeling like he hasn't broken a sweat.

Sid pat his back in approval. Kid knew that if Still had the face of a living human, he'd be smiling.

"It's good to see that you can still run. When I returned from the dead, it took me four hours straight to learn how to walk or run normally again. I suppose you could so easily because of that black blood coursing through your veins."

Kid smiled a little, but as soon as it surfaced, it had disappeared.

"Sid Sensei... What will we be doing tonight...?"

Sid shrugged and really thought.

"Because of your black blood, you are probably stronger than other students. So it will be quite difficult to think of anything that'll leave you out of breath and full of curses to say about me after class..." He laughed a bit. "You see, when Crona was still a student here, before he left the academy, he was quite a hard student to educate."

Kid nodded in understanding.

"Ah. Then... with the remaining time we have left... may you answer the questions I have unanswered?"

Sid nodded, looking over at the hybrid student.

"Yes."

"How did you feel when Stein brought you back to life?" Kid asked at once, hoping this wasn't a too personal question.

Sid sighed, and the two undead Dwma members began to walk together.

"Back when I was alive, I wasn't the man to shy away from my feelings; that was just the kind of man I was. When the Professor brought me back as a request from Lord Death, I honestly had no clue how I should feel. I guess I just felt embarrassed because when Stein told me how I died in the first place, it made me feel like a laughing stock."

…:oOo:...

When Maka fell back into the world of slumber, Patty slowly opened her eyes, hearing her light snoring.

She smiled slightly and got up from where she sat, at Maka's side, and walked out the door.

"_What can I do to bring that smile back to Maka's face...?"_

She stopped in between her room and Maka's room, getting an idea. She smiled widely and raised a fist up in the air.

"_She hasn't read a book in a while! If I go to the Dwma library and get her one of the books I've caught her reading in class a few times! She'll love that!" _Patty giggled silently and slipped into her room, getting dressed. "_She'll be happy __for sure! She's gotta be! I'll even make it a surprise... Just in case! I mean, everyone cheers up when they get surprised...! Right...?"_

Once she was dressed, she threw on her tan coat and ran out of Maka's apartment, heading towards the Dwma.

…:oOo:...

Kid snorted slightly and Sid looked at him.

"What's so funny?"

That's what instantly silenced him and caused him to regret laughing at his only undead companion.

"Nothing, Sid Sensei. Please forgive me. It's just that you sort of were a laughing stock. But I'm sure you aren't anymore. You couldn't be worse than me."

Sid chuckled and itched the back of his head.

"I suppose you can be correct about that..."

Kid looked back up at his Phy Ed teacher, his expression suddenly filled with such seriousness that it scared Sid a little.

"Do you know how I died, exactly? The time? The date? The cause?"

Sid sighed.

"Kid... You died at exactly eight o'clock am on November twenty seventh. You and..." He hesitated to say her name, thinking it would make Kid upset, but Kid just looked away and with a small hand gesture, told him to proceed. "...Maka... Had just defeated your mother, Valencia, the witch of witches. We emerged victorious. But as soon as the light dispersed, you fell to the ground, and began to bleed internally..."

Kid felt his eyes widened, shocked that he hadn't remembered that at all.

"...How bad was it?"

"Severe. One of the worst cases Professor Stein ever saw. Kid, Stein claims that your soul was ripped apart."

~Patty inched closer to the school and she can barely make out two figures walking with each other. She smiled and ran quicker, determined to get Maka the books so she can see Maka smile again. ~

Kid chewed his lower lip.

"And after that? Tell me. Tell me everything."

Sid put his hands in his pockets.

"After Stein knew you had no hope, he had a sudden idea. He talked to your father about the 'idea' and he accepted. He accepted the twist of your fate of living on black blood, just so you can survive... Then... Maka came in to see you..."

Kid clenched his fists and fought off tears.

"_How can I not remember this? My last moments with her... My last memories... I'm disgusting... Her heart must be so broken apart...She..."_

"...She heard you were gonna die, but had no idea you were going to return. She stayed by your side for the remainders of your life. She watched you grow weak and held you in her arms. And then, you took your last breath, and you died."

Kid felt his tears roll down his cheeks and he stopped walking, completely oblivious to everything around him.

"_...She..."_

Patty finally ran up the stairs and recognized Sid instantly, but didn't see the shorter one's face.

"Sid Sensei!"

Sid flinched and his dead skin suddenly got chills. But Kid didn't acknowledge it.

"Patricia! What are you doing out this late at night? It's almost..." He looked at his watch. " two o'clock in the morning!"

Patty giggled and tried to ignore the boy in the hood, despite that her eyes kept drifting over to him.

"I'm looking for a book! Y'know, for Maka-Chan!"

Kid flinched back into reality when he heard the name of the one he cared about the most, but he remained silent.

Patty noticed his form go frigid and pointed at him, looking at Sid.

"Is that boy okay? Is he new?"

Sid stood in front of Kid so she couldn't see him anymore.

"If you'd come back tomorrow morning, I'll show you right to the library to find a book for her, I promise. But right now isn't a good time. I was always the man to reschedule. The was the kind of man I was when, you know, I was alive."

Patty felt slightly offended that Sid ignored her questions and raised an eyebrow.

"Who is that boy, Sid Sensei?"

Sid racked his mind for something to say, as an excuse, when Kid slowly stepped to the side, moving the hood over the upper half of his face, lowering his head; in Patty' perfect view of sight.

"I am the night time maintenance man at this academy, young miss..." He spoke with a raspy voice, hiding his own well.

Sid resisted the urge to widen his eyes and nodded.

"Yes... he's the new janitor, Patty. I'm just showing him around."

Patty smiled.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Maintenance guy! I am Patricia! I hope you enjoy this academy as much as I do despite that you're cleaning our toilets!" She looked back up at Sid. "Tomorrow morning sounds great. See you then, Sid." Giving Kid one last curious look, she ran down the stairs, the cold wind biting at her creamy apricot face.

"_That janitor is a strange one... Sid was also acting strange... I wonder what they're up to..."_ Patty shook her head, her blond hair blowing in the wind around her face. "_No... It's like what Onee-chan always told me. I can't let my mind run or I might get in a serious pickle one day."_

Kid and Sid watched after her and they both sighed.

"That was a close one..." Kid muttered, watching after Patty's running figure in the distance. It was the closest he's been to an actual friend since he returned...

Sid looked down at him, seeing the dried tears on Kid's face.

"Are you alright Kid? You've been crying..."

Kid looked away from Sid and frantically wiped at his face.

"No I wasn't...!" He turned away and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Take me back. I'm tired."

Sid frowned and took Kid lightly by the arm, leading him back inside and through the Dwma's maze of corridors, and down into the basement. Kid was pushed gently back into his cell and Sid looked at him before he closed the cell door.

"Goodnight, Kid. I hope you feel better soon. See you tomorrow, alright?"

When he heard no reply from Kid, he sighed and walked away, his footsteps echoing through the narrow twisted hallways that slightly resembled a nightmare.

Kid sat down, pulled his legs up towards him, and pulled down his hood, staring at the cement ground.

"_I'm so sorry, Maka... It'll get better soon, I promise you..."_

Soon enough, he gently closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall, his heartbeat calming down to a steady pace.

No. Not a heartbeat. It was just a memory to him now.

"_... I promise you..."_ His mind slipped away to unconsciousness and his head lowered.

…:oOo:...

Patty walked back inside the apartment and walked up to her room, her mind running over the strange scene that had occurred just five minutes before. She stopped in front of Maka's room just in time to see her fist clench over Kid's skull tie. Patty smiled lightly.

"Goodnight Maka." She whispered quietly and slipped back into her room, laying in bed without changing back into her pajamas.

Maka heard words echo through her empty dream, as she just floated there in a dark space.

"_I promise you..."_

**How is the story so far? ^^" Too angsty, too 'woe is me'? Anyway, I hope you like it so far. XD Plz Review**


	6. Chapter 5 Rose Red

The morning that followed, Maka slowly opened her eyes and squinted them against the sunlight that shone through her window and cascaded the whole room with it's pure vibrancy.

Sitting up, she stretched her arms above her head, feeling the tears from last night dried up on her face.

She licked her dry lips and looked around the room as Patty walked in with books behind her back.

"Maka~" She sang slightly, sitting next to her gently, hoping the bright tone in her voice would cheer Maka up.

Maka blinked and looked at Patty. To Patty's disappointment, Maka didn't even smile... Not even a small smirk.

"Yes, Patty? Are we late for school?"

Patty shook her head, struggling to keep the smile on her face.

"Nope. We aren't late. I've just got you something from there."

Maka raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Wow, Patty. You're on a roll. First, the necklace... Oh jeez, please don't spend all of your money on me..."

Patty giggled and set a book bag on Maka's lap.

"Wrongo! I got you books!" She pulled out one and pointed at the cover, reading the title printed on it. "'The Beauty and the Beast'! I know how you like old stories!" She looked back up at Maka, hope tugging her insides back and forth like an uncontrollable wave in an ocean. Maka could only stare at the cover and pat Patty's back, sighing relief.

"Good... This didn't cost anything..." She gently took the book into her hands and flipped through the pages, loving the smell of paper. Maka smiled a bit, which caused fireworks to flare up within Patty's heart. Maka looked back up at her and hugged her.

"Thank you." Her smile grew and she got out of bed, carrying the book with her. "Let's get ready to go, or we really _will_ be late."

Patty nodded and ran to her room, rethinking over the events of the early hours before Maka woke up...

_Patty ran up to the school as the sun rose, panting for she hadn't even stopped to take a second to breathe. Once she had reached the top of the stairs, she walked around where she ran into Sid and the strange janitor the night before. Sid waited there, as he had promised he would._

_She smiled and bowed in respect._

"_Haii Sensei~!"_

_Sid jumped, startled. He was tired and had dozed off. He looked over to see Patty and yawned._

"_Hello, Patricia... I was never really the man to be scared easily, but... You can sweep the bravest off their feet."_

_Patty could only giggle._

"_Thanks! Are we going now?"_

"_Yes. Right this way." He turned and led her inside, the two of them walking through the corridors._

_Silence was over them for a moment until Patty broke it._

"_What's that maintenance guy's name? He seemed really nice. But grumpy too."_

_Sid nodded, feeling overwhelming want to tell Patty and everyone else the Dwma's secret, but kept his mouth shut, knowing it wasn't like the man he once was._

"_His name is... Adam. And he was just confused as to how dirty this place can be. He hates the idea of cleaning it. But he had no choice but to take the job. Has a family to feed, y'know."_

_Patty thought for a moment, a curled finger over her chin._

"_Adam...? What a weird name for Janitor people. As I recall, their names are always 'Bob' or 'Jeff' or something like that..." She chewed her lower lip and then giggled, once again, startling Sid. "So what kind of book would you think Maka would like?"_

_Now it was Sid's turn to think._

"_Hmm...Well, you know how she could be a book worm, right? She's read every single book in the library..."_

_Patty and Sid passed the door that led to the basement. While Patty remained her neutral, bubbly self, Sid felt something within him tugging him towards it, knowing there was someone down there that everyone else thought was dead._

"_Well... She really liked the book 'The Beauty and the Beast'..."_

_Patty gasped and clapped her hands together, similarly to Lord Death._

"_Yes! Let's get her that one! She couldn't put it down for hours!"_

_As they walked farther from the door, Sid felt that something wasn't quite right... He sensed Kid's soul, but it was healthy and not in harm's way... What could it be?_

_Sid nodded quickly and looked at the door over his shoulder._

"_Yeah... Get her that one... She should smile by then..." He froze and Patty stopped walking beside him, looking at him with confused eyes._

"_Sensei Sid...? You okay?"_

_Sid nodded again, slowly._

"_Yes." He looked back at her. "Patty, you'll have to go get the book by yourself. I have matters I need to take care of." He turned and ran as fast as he could, running through the basement door._

_Patty blinked and then shrugged, walking on to the library._

Sid had ran to Kid's cell, sliding the door open to see Kid's eyes wide and his pale skin covered with goosebumps. Kid slowly looked up at him and breathed heavily.

"My grave... It's been disturbed."

Sid grit his teeth together, knowing he had felt something.

"Shit..."

Kid shuddered and held his head, feeling ultimately disrespected and uncomfortable. _"What is this feeling... that is itching across my skin...?"_

"Sid..." He breathed, feeling faint. "Make it stop..."

Sid's eyes widened and he inched away.

"I'm going to tell Lord Death quick, Kid. I'll be back soon, I promise."

Kid nodded weakly and Sid slid the door shut, running down the dark corridors and up the steps to the bright ones. He ended up running straight into Spirit, who he successfully knocked over to the ground. Spirit stared up at him in surprise.

"Sid! What the heck-?"

Sid sighed exasperatedly, throwing his hands up into the air slightly.

"Spirit, Kid's in trouble."

Spirit's eyes widened and Sid quickly helped him to his feet.

"Tell Stein and Marie. Quickly. Before Kid get's hurt or worse."

Spirit didn't have to ask what Sid meant by worse. _Or else Kid would go back to dead._ He nodded and ran down the opposite end of the hall as Sid. Spirit ran into Stein's classroom, slamming the door open. It was still early in the morning, so there were no students yet.

"Stein!"

Stein jerked, startled. He sat in his rolly chair with a beaker filled with tea and was now looking at Spirit.

"What is it, Sempai?"

Spirit acted the same as Sid did, running a shaking hand through his hair.

"It's about Kid... He's... He's gonna..." He bit his lower lip, looking at Stein with worried eyes. Stein instantly got it and stood up, dropping his beaker of tea on the ground, causing it to shatter.

"We need to get Kid out of the cell he's in as soon as possible and get him to his burial ground."

He walked quickly, heading past Spirit, who stopped him.

"What about Marie? Sid said we needed to get her too."

Stein grit his teeth and glared at Spirit.

"Spirit, there's no time for that now. It's either waste time, or kill another student." He pushed Spirit to the side, slightly violently, and ran out of the classroom. Spirit didn't have time to feel hurt by his friend, so he followed after him.

At that exact moment, Sid ran through the door to the Death Room and Lord Death turned to him, wearing his usual robe and mask.

"What is it, Sid?"

Sid breathed in and out heavily from running, his hands resting on his knees.

"Kid's grave has been disturbed. He's so weak..."

Death was silent and behind his mask, his face was filled with complete fear.

"Where are Stein, Spirit, and Marie?"

"I told Spirit to get them both."

Death became slightly angry, clenching his large hands into fists.

"And Kid is...?"

Sid felt regret.

"He's... He's still down there..."

As he said those words, Stein was running down the basement corridors, his white lab coat flowing behind him as he did so.

Spirit tried to keep up, feeling like he was about to have a heart attack if he ran any farther, but knew he couldn't, for it was for the sake of the Dwma's secret.

Stein kicked down the door of Kid's cell, thinking it was quicker than unlocking the door and sliding it open.

Kid was close to unconsciousness on the floor, his skin slick with sweat. His body was shaking.

Stein quickly took off his lab coat and lifted Kid up into his arms, covering him with it. He looked at Spirit over his shoulder, who nodded and took out his compact mirror to contact Lord Death as Stein ran back through the maze of dark hallways.

Spirit breathed on the mirror and traced Death's number on it's surface with a shaky finger.

The surface rang a few times before Death picked up. Spirit can see Sid clutching his cheek in the background, having a feeling that Death had slapped him. On Death's mask was an expression of anger.

"Where are you? Where is my son?" His voice was deep and dangerous.

"Stein is on his way to the cemetery right now, Lord Death. There is no time to get Marie right now, so she isn't aware of this happening."

Death nodded and looked at Sid over his shoulder.

"Go to the cemetery and meet Stein, Sid." Sid nodded and ran out, Death looked back at Spirit. "You go find Marie. I have school to cancel."

Spirit nodded and closed the mirror, putting it into his pocket as he ran out of Kid's cell and down the same hallways Stein had.

Death turned to his length mirror and swiped his fingers across the surface, his masked face appearing on all of the glass and mirror wear all over Death City.

"Shibusen students of Death City, May I please have your full attention please."

Maka and Patty had been walking together down the sidewalk and both had stopped in front of a mirror store, both of them looking at Lord Death.

Patty put a finger to her lips, raising a curious eyebrow.

"I wonder what 'dis is about..."

Maka focused on the large mirror set in the middle on display, holding her books to her chest.

Death took a deep breath.

"Class is canceled for today due to technical difficulties within the school. It may be canceled tomorrow as well, we'll never know for sure until then. These technical difficulties consist of the lighting buzzing within the classrooms, computer's screens are crackling along the surface, and the heat keeps going up without purpose. All need to be fixed."

Patty giggled and Maka looked at her questionably.

"I wonder if Adam is gonna fix all this...Poor Adam..."

Maka raised an eyebrow.

"Adam? Who's-"

And at that moment, lightning flashed and the mirrors and glass shattered around all of Death City, catching Death in mid sentence.

Back at the Dwma, Lord Death flinched in surprise when the surface of his mirror cracked violently along the surface.

"Damn..."

It began to rain as Stein ran across Death City so he pulled his lab coat tighter over Kid's body. His glassed shattered and he hissed through his teeth when some of the larger glass shards cut his cheek as they fell from the frame.

"Shit." He flipped the glasses off his face with the swift movement of twitching his head to the side.

He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the lighting as the once brilliant golden sunlight was replaced by gray clouds filled with rain. Kid stirred slightly in his arms and he felt warm yet chilled because of the sweat dripping down his pale face.

"Hakase..." He muttered weakly.

"We're almost there, Kid. Calm down and breathe."

Kid felt light headed and groaned a little, his throat feeling raw to the point where he can taste blood.

Sid saw them running in the distance, breathing heavily.

He was tempted to say 'Stein, wait up!', but knew better, since the dull pain in the side of his face screamed at him not to.

He grit his teeth and pushed himself to run farther. He gasped in surprise when he sensed the soul of a kishin in the cemetery ahead. And a new kishin, of all the hate in the Death community...

Stein sensed it too and his heart nearly skipped a beat, his eyes going wide for a moment.

It felt exactly like when a witch took off soul protect. Overwhelming evil and madness.

Kid's red eyes snapped open, flashing black for a split second. He suddenly felt... hungry.

"Professor... What is..."

Stein looked down at Kid.

"It's just a kishin... Nothing that Sid and I can't take down."

Stein ran through the gates of the cemetery and froze, looking up at all of the grave markers that faced him. Sid caught up to them and stood beside Stein, breathing heavily despite that Stein's breathing was flawless.

"Where is the bugger...?" He panted.

Stein squinted his eyes, looking around.

"It's..." He sensed the soul and can see a faint red outline of a body hiding behind a grave marker in the shape of a praying angel. His eyes snapped open and nodded his head towards the gravestone. "Behind there."

Sid sighed and took out a pocket knife out from his pants pocket.

"I doubt this will kill it quick enough... but it's worth a try."

He darted from the place he had stood, his once heavily breathing switching dramatically to that of a silent assassin.

**I listened to Rosenrot by Rammstein as I typed this . Sets the moment pretty nice ^^ The next chapter will be a thrill, trust me :D **


	7. Chapter 6 Kishin Chaos

Stein watched after Sid and looked around for Kid's grave, walking throughout the cemetery quietly.

Kid felt the dark energy from the kishin nearby. He had never experienced something like this before... was it because he had just found out that he was part witch? Or was it because of the black blood? Kid felt his veins tingle and he twitched slightly. Sid ran right into the kishin,both of them falling to the ground,holding the knife up against it's throat. It gasped in surprise, it's dark red eyes going wide.

"What the hell are you supposed to be? You don't even look like a normal human! Your skin is blue! What, have you found a liking for frostbite? Monkey?"

Sid growled and pushed the knife deeper, causing the kishin to tense slightly. The kishin appeared to look like your average normal everyday Death City citizen, if not for the red eyes filled with madness.

The kishin laughed quietly.

"Blue monkey, Do you think that is any way to introduce yourself? If I were you, I'd apologize before I would get hurt..."

Before Sid can successfully slit the kishin's throat, the kishin violently kicked him in the chest, baring it's teeth, causing Sid to be shot backward through the air, crashing through a few gravestones.

Stein gasped and stopped in his tracks, his head shooting up in the kishin's direction. Yards away, he saw Sid staggering back up to his feet as the hungry kishin male zipped towards him with a saliva induced grin.

Kid tensed, his eyes going wide for a moment.

"Hakase? Is Sensei Sid alright?"

Stein looked back down at Kid and nodded, beginning to walk again.

"Yes, Kid. Sid is strong, despite that has difficulties with physical activity. He can kill this one in a heart beat."

Sid crossed his arms in front of his body to guard his chest as the kishin ran into him, digging his sharpening black nails into his forearms.

Sid flinched in surprise as he felt pain ripple across his dead veins. With a disgusted scream, he threw the kishin across the graveyard. But the kishin just continued to smile, standing his ground as he shot backward, the heels of his feet digging through the sacred ground.

He laughed deeply, glaring up at Sid when his back made contact with a tree.

"Dumb monkey... You shouldn't harm the species of the dead..."

Sid jumped high up into the air and for a second, the kishin thought he made it into space. Until, Sid came crashing down on him, knocking him to the ground while Sid stood on his chest.

Sid grit his teeth.

"Go back to where you came from, you disgusting thing!" He growled, throwing the knife down at the kishin.

The kishin's eyes jerked open when the knife went through his chest, but then he smiled sweetly. So sweet, that it could've been one filled with of venom.

"You lost your aim there. Should I draw a stupid target on my chest in red paint to give you some target practice? Monkey face...?" The kishin cackled, almost giggling. "Or with red... blood?"

Sid was about to say something back in return, when suddenly, the kishin shot up, noting hesitation within Sid's hands. The movement of silent fear. Shaking.

The kishin ripped the knife from his chest, blood splattering across the front of Sid's shirt. He smirked, preparing to slam it through Sid's own chest.

"Let me show you how it feels like to be stabbed, you dumb-ass bastard!"

Sid clenched his fists and gripped the kishin's wrist, flipping him backward, causing the kishin to let out a startled yelp. He stomped on the kishin's chest with all his strength and managed to break half of the kishin's ribs. The kishin's eyes filled with pain and he threw his head back, howling.

Kid heard the echoing snap and howl and froze completely, feeling his heart skip a beat. He shook his head quickly, screwing his eyes shut.

"_No... Not a heartbeat... That doesn't exist for me anymore... It's just a damn allusion!"_

Stein found Kid's cross shaped grave marker and lowered his head, reading it carefully.

_~Death the Kid~_

_Loving Son_

_Loyal Meister_

_Devoted Student_

_You shalt be missed by all and will be honored by every citizen held capable in Death City. We thank you for giving us hope and for sacrificing your life for our sake._

Stein gently set Kid down in front of it. Kid adjusted to standing up slowly, pulling off Stein's labcoat. He looked around at where he was and his gaze rested on his grave marker. He felt himself get goosebumps and his eyes filled with slight tears.

"Damn it..." He muttered, clenching his fists on his knees as he kneeled.

Stein looked up at him questionably.

"What is it, Kid?"

Kid shuddered, lowering his head.

"...Why do I keep crying like this when I'm dead? It's impossible... How can I process the feeling of sorrow?"

Stein rested a hand on Kid's shoulder, wearing a small reassuring smile.

"...Nothing is impossible."

Kid looked up at Stein over his shoulder, his tears rolling silently down his pale cheeks. That is exactly when they heard snarling behind the grave marker. Stein quickly reacted, stepping in front of Kid protectively, his pale green eyes narrowed. A kishin jumped out at them, landing on Stein in the process, and bit down hard into Stein's shoulder.

Kid's scooted back as his eyes widened in fear.

"Hakase!"

Stein let out a scream of pain and struggled to pull the kishin off. By the looks of it, it looked like a fresh kishin too. He finally managed to fling it off, slamming it brutally against the cross shaped stone.

The kishin smiled slyly, giggling as saliva oozed to the ground from in between it's sharp teeth.

"Stitch man!" He cackled. "That isn't nice after one says hello..." He kicked Stein in the chest with his bare feet, causing Stein to fly over Kid's head and straight into another gravestone yards away, the breath rushing out of him.

Kid couldn't move. He may have taken down a witch and tons of other kishins before, but he was afraid because he was alone with one of them.

The kishin tilted it's head to the side, raising an eyebrow, and he wiped his mouth.

"Who are you?" It asked.

Kid looked up into his crimson eyes and gasped, not being able to tear his gaze away. He felt like he can tell this being anything. Like he was destined to. Like it was instinct. His lower lower lip quivered when he tried to open his mouth and speak, but words didn't find their way out.

The kishin laughed, kneeling down in front of Kid, it's face a few inches from his own.

"Silent type, eh? I like those..."

The kishin snaked a cold pale hand around Kid's chin, tilting Kid's face from side to side, gathering in the features.

Kid felt the words find their way up to his mouth and before he can stop himself, he spoke.

"My name is Death the Kid."

The kishin froze, staring deep into Kid's eyes.

"You're Death the Kid? The meister that died two months ago?"

Kid swallowed and took in a deep breath.

"That's right." He spoke firmly.

The kishin smiled calmly.

"I'm Razor Monochrome. It was a pleasure meeting you." He raised a clawed hand to draw a line of black blood in Kid's cheek, but Stein staggered back up, holding his injured arm, glaring at him.

"Don't touch him!" He growled, throwing his non-injured arm forward, shooting his lightning-like wavelength at Razor's face.

Razor shrieked, letting go of Kid, and clutched his burning face.

"GAHH!"

Kid quickly stood up, running to Stein as fast as he could, breathing heavily.

Sid raised his foot high into the air, preparing to break the other kishin's last set of ribs.

The kishin reacted and grabbed hold of Sid's foot, twisting it until it snapped.

Sid screamed, falling back.

The kishin stood up, holding his heavily bleeding side, his eyes piercing red.

"Razor!" He screamed at his big brother from across the cemetery.

Razor heard his brother's voice, knowing that the zombie has fallen. His red eyes snapped back open, both equally as piercing as his brother's. He removed his hands from his face in a blur, which was burnt over one eye that his blond bangs covered anyway. Blood oozed down his face as he grinned, straightening up. He withdrew a sharp object from his coat, which looked similar to that of a needle connected to a vial of a pure lavender substance that practically glowed.

Stein noticed what Razor was about to do, recognizing the concoction within the vial, and widened his eyes, looking back at Kid. He reached a hand out to him, trying to tell him to go back.

"Kid-kun!" He yelled.

Kid could barely hear him over the sound of his blood pumping in his ears and ran faster towards Stein.

Razor closed his eyes and held the vial firmly in front of him. With a wicked chuckle, he let it fall, the vial rushing straight down into Kid's sacred burial place.

Stein screamed, running towards Kid in a hurry, preparing to push him.

"KID!"

Sid looked up from where he lay on the ground, gasping, his eyes jerking wide. Razor's little brother smiled excitedly, leaning forward.

Kid saw Stein running towards him and telling him to stop and froze, looking over his shoulder.

As if the scene was stuck in slow motion, Kid noticed what Razor dropped and widened his eyes slowly as Stein's screams faded from his ears. The needle pierced the ground, the glowing substance within the vial shimmering. Kid slowly looked up into Razor's eyes as he smiled.

"Welcome to our world... little brother."

Kid gasped and looked down at his hands, which were shaking frantically, and felt a dull pain growing inside his chest.

He tried to breathe, but it felt as if his lungs wouldn't allow it.

Kid screwed his eyes shut as his blood pumped louder, echoing within his ears.

The vial slowly emptied itself of the lavender substance, and Stein froze, shaking in fear and failure.

"NOOO!"

Kid tasted something on the tip of his tongue. He reopened his eyes and painfully moved a hand up to his lips, looking at what had been in his mouth.

Black blood.

His eyes snapped open wider, his eyes turning black. He stood there, motionless, as more of his own blood dripped down his chin. Razor watched this with amazed eyes and began to laugh when suddenly, he saw two people walk into the cemetery in the distance.

Marie, who held a shovel like a weapon, and Spirit.

Sid looked up at Marie, who nodded and ran to him.

Spirit got the message to run over to where Stein stood and saw what was happening, transforming into a scythe due to instinct.

Stein caught him and zipped in a blur to where Razor stood, slicing the blade at his chest. Razor could only smile when he dodged the edge of it, now crouched on top of Kid's grave stone.

"Pathetic..."

Marie held the shovel in one hand while her other turned into a hammer. The kishin didn't even sense her coming as she smacked the shovel against the back of his head and slammed the hammer into his stomach, which triggered the pain in his left side. He let out a shriek of agony and his breath escaped him, blood spurting from his lips.

Marie screamed in anger, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"How can a kishin that is still so much human be so cruel? He's just a boy!" She kicked him in his severely injured side which made him scream more as he crashed into a tree.

He winced as he made contact with it and could barely open one eye, his face dirty.

"Damn cyclops woman... Nobody knows respect..."

Sid struggled to sit up, successfully able to do so, studying his twisted foot. It was at an odd angle which made him look away in disgust.

"God dammit..." He muttered.

Out in the city, Maka and Patty flinched in surprise when the mirror shattered and the citizens around them screamed.

Maka's eyes widened and she dropped her books, running towards the Dwma. Patty gasped, taking off after her.

"Maka! Where are you going?" She panted.

Maka didn't answer, the snow that fell from the sky catching in her hair and burning in her emerald eyes.

"_I have a bad feeling about something... Lord Death must be keeping something from us... I feel it..." _She flinched as her foot caught under a rock in the street and she fell forward. She saw the ground come at her quick as she made contact with it, landing on her wrist awkwardly. Maka let out a small startled scream but got back up with no problem, ignoring the pain her wrist was causing. She ran on with a determined look in her eyes, blood soaking the front of her shirt where she held her wrist.

Patty struggled to keep up, trying to stop her.

"Maka!"

Maka couldn't hear her because of the distance, heading up Shibusen's set of stairs. Her pigtails blew in the snow filled wind around her, her eyes squinted as she felt the cold bite at her face. Once she made it to the top, she ran through the doors, heading to the Death Room where Lord Death stood.

Stein swung Spirit at Razor again, growling with anger.

"Arghh!" He managed to brush the kishin's stomach and Razor jumped backward into the air, having nothing more than a small cut on his chest.

Stein noticed what he was trying to do. He was trying to get them further and further away from Kid so he can-

"RAZOR!" Razor's little brother screamed.

Razor's eyes flickered up as he saw his precious family member get impaled by the shovel, the blade of the shovel protruding through his chest and through the tree.

Razor gasped and his crimson eyes filled with tears.

"LIAM!"

Liam's head lolled to the side and his eyes closed, his own blood dripping down his chin.

Marie breathed heavily, letting go of the handle as Liam's pulsing evil soul float outward from his chest.

Kid was in a world of his own. He couldn't see, hear, or feel anything. All he can sense was his blood rush at an intense speed through his veins, humming as it passed his through his heart. His blood seemed to boil and penetrate through his veins like acid.

He remained where he stood, in the same position, just staring as the said blood dripped down his paper white fingers.

Liam's death proved to be an easy enough distraction to Razor and Stein raised Death Scythe up high with a snarl at his pale lips...

Lord Death grit his teeth under his mask, glaring at the mirror, until Maka ran into the room, slamming the doors open as she did so.

"Shinigami-sama!"

Lord Death flinched, startled, and turned to face her.

"Maka, What are you doing here? Didn't you see my announcements?"

She nodded, furrowing her eyebrows.

"How can you do this?"

Death suddenly felt confused, staring at the young hybrid before him.

"Whatever do you mean?-"

"Don't act like you don't know!" She snapped, becoming angrier by the second. "How can you lie to your people like that!" Her voice rose, shaking slightly.

Death remained silent, too shocked to say anything.

Maka glared deeply into the eyes of his mask.

"Tell me, Lord Death... To spare me from suffering anymore pain..." She looked down at the ground, clenching her fists. "Is Kiddo-kun... really dead?" Her emerald eyes flickered back up at him.

Death felt his blood run cold. He didn't know what to say to his son's beloved. But after all of the pain she suffered, she deserved to know. He met her gaze and under the mask, his lips parted to speak...

Stein brought the blade down upon Razor's chest and the kishin's eyes shot open. He blinked a few times and looked down to see the blackened blade through his chest, his blood dripping at a steady flow to the snow filled ground, the crimson mixing with the white like a blanket across pale skin. He began to laugh hoarsely, his eyes flickering back up to meet Stein's blazing slate ones.

"You can't save the shinigami, stitch man... He'll become one of us soon enough..."

Stein growled, gripping a hold of Razor's neck, digging his fingers in so deep that the dying kishin had to gasp out, his eyes fluttering slightly.

"Look at me, kishin..."

Razor struggled to look at him in their position, but managed.

Stein breathed in even, almost calm breaths.

"How did you get a hold of a substance like that? Ancient blood?"

Razor smiled wickedly, exposing his sharpened kishin teeth.

"They aren't extinct, stitch man..."

Stein's eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly in horror.

Razor chuckled, closing his eyes.

"...There's one left."

Stein watched as Razor's head tilted back, blood dripping from his lips, and his evil egg floating outward from his chest.

Kid's eyes turned from black, to blood red, to crimson and they fluttered as he fell to the ground.

Lord Death took a deep breath.

"Maka, He's-"

That's when they both flinched and Maka's emerald eyes glistened briefly as they both felt the two kishin's souls nearby.

Maka was too focused on the souls and felt it pull hers along. She ran out of the room before Death can stop her. He reached a hand out towards her as she slammed the doors closed.

"Maka, don't go! It's dangerous without a meister or weapon, anyhow!"

Maka couldn't hear him; her head was too filled with thoughts of her own at the moment. She ran past Patty, who just entered the Dwma. Patty was out of breath and watched after her.

"Maka! Where are you going _now_?"

Maka ran again, her wrist screaming at her in pain as she moved herself forward where her soul told her too. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her destination. She sensed three human souls, one undead soul, and two kishin eggs. She sensed another presence too, but she saw no soul...

**Oh my sweet mother of Kagamine, who on earth could that be...? O,o... :) Sorry for not updating in a while, but I hope this is enough for your cravings to last a whole while if my absence perceives.**


	8. Chapter 7 The Empty Grave

Stein swiftly removed Spirit's blade from the kishin and the kishin's body shattered like glass before it can hit the ground below it. Marie helped Sid up onto his good foot, supporting him with an arm under his armpit. Spirit transformed back and Stein rushed over to Kid's side, checking his pulse. The group watched him with worried eyes for a while until Stein looked back, holding a thumbs up. He stood back up with Kid in his arms, Kid's body hanging there like a battered rag doll.

"Spirit, take Kid back. Sid, does your ankle still hurt?"

Sid's eyes bugged out and he smiled sarcastically.

"Um... What do you think, Doctor?"

Stein sighed, handing Kid into Spirit's arms.

"I need help digging up Kid's grave to get whatever is left of that Ancient blood to experiment on. I need to see how old this Ancient may be and see if it is still living. I've been told that if it still breathes, it's blood doesn't stop glowing once it's released to oxygen."

Marie raised a polite hand shyly.

"Franken, I can help. If Sid isn't hurting too bad, that is."

Sid sighed irritably.

"It's as if I'm talking to two walls of air..." He muttered.

Stein chuckled a bit, looking at Sid out of the corner of his eyes.

"Well, I have a pain killer and a few disinfectants in my lab coat... wherever the hell it is... If you can't last that long, then I'll stay here and dig by myself while Marie helps you back."

Sid shook his head slowly and looked at the ground with his blank pale eyes.

"Pain killers aren't enough for me. I'm sorry Stein."

Stein smiled reassuringly and shrugged.

"Hey, This isn't like that time in second grade, Sid-senpai. If you need rest, i'd recommend that you'd go get it while you can."

Marie frowned a bit and nodded as Sid looked horrified by the memory Stein mentioned.

Spirit picked Stein's lab coat from off the top of Kid's grave, laying it gently over the body of the boy himself in his arms.

"I suggest we leave now. It's getting dark, and students are just getting out of school-"

Stein turned his screw a bit before speaking.

"-It got canceled, remember?"

Spirit mentally slapped himself.

"Damn it all..." He grumbled. "Then I suppose the faster we leave, the better, no matter what."

Stein nodded, Marie handing him the shovel she brought.

"That would be the best option."

The group nodded and began to walk away while Stein took a cigarette out of his back pocket and propped it in between his lips. His slate eyes flickered over to the ground in front of him, where Kid's coffin lay deep under. He straightened up and began to dig.

"_If Kid reacted so negatively about there being something around his burial ground, Why didn't Sid when his was disrupted by the students a while back?"_

His eyes trailed over to his former students' gravestones and quickly looked away.

"_Was it because Kid was more sensitive than Sid was? Or did he have an instinct in him that said he was going to be harmed?" _He shook his head and stomped his foot on the side of the shovel, forcing it down. "_No. They both just have different blood is all... Different blood have different reactions."_

All of Death City's meisters and weapons sensed the kishin's deaths as well, and it was only natural that they'd be pulled to the souls. As Maka ran on, she heard the feet of meisters and weapons running behind her, along with Patty who kept frantically calling out her name. She grit her teeth in determination, her heart beat a rapid tune in her chest, her ankles screaming as if they were on fire.

"_I... will get my answer!"_

Spirit, Marie, and Sid sensed the wavelengths of those who were approaching the cemetery and they quickly hid from view behind an abandoned building.

Marie gasped.

"We need to tell Stein! He's gonna get caught if they find him!"

Spirit shook his head, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Marie-san, there is no time for that anymore! Kid and Sid are severely injured, and Kid can possibly die of blood loss out here!" He snapped and Marie's eyes widened.

"Spirit..."

Sid chuckled a bit.

"Stein is a strong man. They don't call him the best meister to ever graduate the academy for nothing..."

Kid stirred in Spirit's arms and the three adults looked down at him, noting the expression of horror on his face as his eyes frantically moved beneath his pale eyelids.

Marie gently pressed a hand to his forehead and kept it there for a while.

"He's... burning up. I think he's getting sick."

Spirit shook his head and sighed, meeting Sid's eyes.

"Still, it doesn't sound good at all. We should hurry. Or we can lose him."

They watched as Maka ran by and Spirit heard Kid whimper as she ran out of view, the other shibusen students running after her.

Maka soon sensed that it was only one soul now up ahead and she saw the cemetery gate approaching.

She pushed through the doors and ran throughout the rows of grave markers; the path representing that of a labyrinth.

Stein reached Kid's coffin and hunkered down, pulling a test tube and a swab from his back pocket. Being a scientist, he always kept things like this handy. He smeared the tip of the swab across the lavender substance that shimmered across Kid's casket. He held it up to the light and frowned slightly.

"Hmm... This isn't quite enough to tell... I need to see if any more seeped inside..."

He gently lifted up the lid and saw that indeed, some had gotten inside. He grabbed the swab and soaked up as much as the Ancient blood as he could, holding it up to the light again. He growled and put it in the test tube, snapping the lid on tight.

"Damn it! It's still living!" He had never sounded so angry yet afraid in his life; even when he had gone insane in the depths of Medusa's little 'game'.

Maka heard Stein's voice nearby and pushed herself further until she stopped at the edge of her love's grave. Her emerald eyes widened in confusion and she looked up at the grave marker to double check that it was really _his _that she was seeing. She looked back down at the gaping hole, shock written over her features and her legs beginning to buckle.

"H-Hakase...? Where's... Kid?"

Stein flinched and looked over his shoulder just in time to see Maka faint, falling forward into Kid's grave. Stein rushed forward and caught her into his arms. All anger had been erased from his face, but his fear grew.

He had been too caught up with getting the blood that he hadn't noticed the others coming; including Maka.

Patty ran through first and gasped at the sight before her, horror in her big robin's egg blue eyes. She was too surprised to speak. The other students caught up and circled around Kid's empty grave, looking down at Stein with confusion and surprise.

"Professor... Where's Kid?" Patty asked once she found her words.

Stein looked up at all the faces of his students, keeping hold of the unconscious Albarn in his arms. Noting that their faces weren't ever gonna change unless they got an answer, and he sighed, looking away.

"They took his body out... And ran away from our reach." He lied easily, looking back up to meet their gazes. "But. I assure all of you, that we will get him back from them, and return him to his resting spot."

A student; Kim, stepped forward warily.

"Who's they?"

Stein grit his teeth slightly.

"...There were more kishin before the two that are now dead on the ground... The two were left here to put up with us as the others made their daring escape. Why they wanted Kid... We don't know."

Patty looked down at Maka's face and saw that some snow flakes had fallen on her face and melted instantly, rolling down her cheekbones like tears.

"Hakase... Be honest... Do you think Maka will be okay?" She sniffled, her sight becoming blurred with tears.

Stein felt guilt stir in his stomach and looked down at Maka as well. He smirked slightly as another lie left his lips.

"... She'll be fine."

…:oOo:...

Spirit walked into the Dwma and Lord Death had been waiting for them inside by the door, the hood of his cloak pulled down and his mask resting on top of his head.

He studied his son in Spirit's arms and looked back up at him and the other two.

"Kid will be fine. He's just getting sick is all."

Spirit met his gaze.

"Shinigami-sama, There was an instance of Ancient blood. I don't think 'he's just getting sick'."

Death's eyes widened and her clenched his fists.

"What? They still exist?" He growled.

Sid nodded.

"One left. It should be heavily guarded and watched over if the last flourished for this long."

Death sighed, furrowing his eyebrows, and looked back down at his son, gingerly moving a few strands of raven colored hair out of his warm face, the fierce look in his eyes being replaced by worry.

"Get Kid to the infirmary. Quickly. Get Sid there too."

The Death Scythes nodded and made their way as fast as they could manage down the hall.

Death watched after them with a sigh and walked outside just as Stein made it to the top of the steps with Maka dangling in his arms.

Death gasped, thinking she was dead for as still as she was, until he noticed the small white clouds of air escaping her lips into the cold. He sighed relief and noticed Patty sobbing into Stein's arm, clinging onto him tightly.

Stein met Lord Death's gaze and Death suddenly got a bad feeling in gut.

"What happened?" He asked.

Stein flickered his eyes over to Patty and then looked back up, realizing he had to watch what he said if he didn't want the last Thompson sister to find out the Dwma's secret.

"I was... inspecting Kid's grave for any traces of the kishin, and found..." He unclenched a fist and Death saw the vial with the sample. "...This. I must do experiments on it to see the elements it has within it, and how often it reacts to new chemicals."

Death looked at the vial carefully and noticed that the substance on the swab had a dull glow to it.

Patty's cry interrupted them and they both looked down at her. She was shivering against the cold and she looked miserable.

Lord Death sighed and opened his arms.

"Patty, come here-"

Patty jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly, screaming with each sob.

"Please! Help her feel better! I-I-I'm so sick! And tired of seeing her so sad every day!"

Lord Death gently pat her head and returned the embrace.

"Come on inside... you're freezing, Patty. You should drink some hot chocolate and as soon as Maka wakes up, I promise you, we will give her hot chocolate too. Perhaps then, she will smile."

Patty tried to smile, her lips quivering, and nodded, gripping hold of Death's cloak like a small child. Death looked up at Stein and Stein nodded, getting the message, and Death went along inside, comforting Patty.

Stein looked back down at Maka, relieved that the shock hadn't killed her. He walked along inside and headed into the infirmary. When he opened the door, he saw Sid sitting on the bed with his leg propped up and being bandaged up by Marie. On the other bed, Kid lay under heavy blankets, his cheeks red and his expression troubled. Spirit looked up from Kid's bedside and saw Maka in Stein's arms which instantly caused him to snap. He shot up out of his seat and gripped Stein by the shirt collar, shaking him slightly.

"You sick bastard! What did you do to my Maka?"

Stein sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Nothing, Senpai. She fainted from shock. She saw Kid's empty coffin, and couldn't handle it."

Spirit looked down at his daughter and sorrow and worry filled his eyes, his gaze looking similar to Lord Death's when he looked down at his son.

Spirit scooped up Maka into his arms and set her on the last empty bed, next to Kid's.

That's when the four of the adults noticed Kid and Maka were actually in the same room, next to each other for the first time in months.

Sid gazed upon them and chuckled slightly.

"Well... look at that... Kid looks like he's getting better already..."

Marie giggled, went up to Stein, and wrapped her arms around him with a small smile, resting her head against his chest.

"...And Maka, too..."

The four of them watched as the two teens leaned their heads towards each other, the two looking peaceful.

Stein watched in astonishment as Kid's and Maka's souls adjusted to the other's and sensed a deep bond between the two. He had never seen a bond this strong in his life as a meister and a teacher.

Sid sighed and closed the curtain around Kid's bed and the other three looked at him questionably, struck out of their awe. Sid looked at them, also feeling disturbed that the couple was separated despite the two not acknowledging that the other was there.

"When Maka wakes up, she can't see Kid-kun. And Kid seems to be under the worst weather at the moment, so he'll be out for a while."

Stein nodded in agreement.

"I agree. Marie, Sid, Death Scythe and I are going to visit Lord Death and talk to him about the Ancient and how we should track it to it's hiding spot."

Marie shrugged and smiled slightly.

"You know... We can always call Justin and Yumi."

Spirit and Stein got disgusted looking faces and Sid could only frown. Though... Sid always frowned.

"...Nnno." Stein mumbled.

Spirit smiled, trying to appear happy by the idea for he was afraid of the wrath of Marie's hammer on his skull.

"Well... um... Sounds like an awesome idea, but... Don't you think the two are busy with their Honeymoon and such?"

Sid and Stein turned towards him with astonished eyes.

"Those two freaks got married?" Stein asked in a dull voice, which made the conversation almost comical.

Spirit turned to them in confusion.

"Wait, you didn't know? I got wasted at their reception and had the worst hangover _ever_ the next day!"

Sid scoffed.

"I can't believe I didn't know this sooner!"

Marie sighed, rolling her eyes, shoving Spirit and Stein out the door with all her strength.

"Okay you two! Off to Lord Death you go!"

The two were about to speak when Marie slammed the door shut.

"Wow... men..."She muttered, sitting on a chair next to Maka's bed.

Sid and Marie sat there in utter silence.

"Marie... you do know I'm still here, right?"

**XD Sorry again that it took so long. Like the part at the end, right? Everything is so warm and fuzzy aside from the part in the beginning, which was the exact opposite. O,O Anyway, Reviews= Love, Minions!**


	9. Chapter 8 Maka's Paradise and Fear

"Come in."

Spirit and Stein stepped into the Death room side by side, looking upon their leader as he turned from the sleeping teens' image on the mirror to face them.

"Shinigami-sama..." Spirit began, looping his thumbs in his belt loops.

"How do you suppose we track the Ancient?" Stein finished his former Death Weapon's sentence, taking a step forward.

Death stroked his chin, deep in thought as he walked towards the other men.

"Hm... You _do_ remember Yumi, right?"

Spirit and Stein's faces grew dark and their shoulders slumped a bit.

Death chuckled slightly, rolling his golden eyes.

"You two aren't students anymore, but you _are _adults. Start acting more your age. Besides, we aren't given much of a choice, huh? It's either the risk of Kid becoming a kishin and Death City going to hell, or the finding of the Ancient who started all of this and putting an end to that line of evil. Pick one."

The two of them sighed and straightened up.

"Yes. We shall have Yumi to assist us on our hunt." It nearly killed Spirit to say.

Stein just mumbled something, pulled out a cigarette, and nodded.

Death smiled.

"Jolly good. I shall summon her and Justin here after you two leave."

Stein's cigarette dropped from his hands, his eye beginning to twitch slightly.

"Him... too?"

Death clapped his hands together, rocking back and forth on his heels with a wide enthusiastic grin planted on his pale face.

"Well, the more help, the better!"

…:oOo:...

Marie was dozing off in her seat next to Maka's bed while Sid was already fast asleep in his chair next to Kid's. Maka shuddered a bit in her sleep, furrowing her eyebrows slightly, having a dream.

_Maka walked calmly through the battlefield, as she always had in the beginning of a nightmare. She searched for any signs of violence, but there was nobody in sight. No corpse, blood, innards, nothing. Just a vast field with the flags of Death City flapping in the wind as the ropes that held them up clinged against the poles. Ahead, she heard some scuffle noises and small chuckling that sounded familiar._

_Maka looked around, flinching in surprise at the sudden burst._

"_Hello?"_

_Then she heard it again and saw a flash of black and white in the corner of her eyes, whirling around. Still nothing. She furrowed her eyebrows._

"_If you're going to do something to make my sleep worsen, may as well do it!" She screamed, her voice echoing off the fields and hills. She blinked a bit when she noticed high mountains in the distance and a blue sky just above it in contrast to the gray one she stood under. Maka took a deep breath and gave the field she was standing in one final look before she walked on towards the mountains in the landscape. She looked at the ground below her, seeing brilliant golden flowers grow at the bottom of her feet, which were bare, whenever she walked. Raising an eyebrow, she smiled a bit, her pigtails flowing in the wind that blew around her. Again, she looked over her shoulder at the battlefield, her eyes widening when she saw an endless flower field in its place._

"_Perhaps moving forward really is a good thing... if you put your mind to it... but I know. I will never accept it, no matter what the circumstance." She spoke in a surprisingly clear voice, making her eyes widen all the bit more. "Hm. May as well keep going while it's good."_

_She continued to walk, looking up at the array of lavender in the distance. But even further, she saw someone standing there. Squinting her eyes, she recognized the white stripes, and gasped in wonder._

"_Why isn't this a nightmare? Why isn't he dead? Is... this dream just being mislead?" Questions flooded from Maka's head and out her mouth in silent whispers as she ran towards him. As she became closer to him, he turned with a warming smile that never failed to cause her heart to flutter with warmth. His golden eyes reflected that of the flowers, his pale skin standing out over the wispy lavender mountains that still stood further away in the distance._

_Maka found a smile spring up onto her face and wiped at her eyes a bit, hoping she wasn't tearing up._

"_Kid-kun!"_

_Kid chuckled, raising an eyebrow as he rested his hands on his hips, his raven colored hair blowing around in the wind._

"_My, my... speak of the devil..." He grinned and Maka scoffed, rolling her eyes, pouncing on him, the both of them falling on the ground._

"_Shut up!" She giggled, looking down at him with a smile._

_He looked up at her and stroked her cheek, staring at her lips. Maka leaned forward slightly, beginning to close her eyes, when Kid pressed his fingers against her lips. He couldn't just press one finger to them, otherwise, it'd be asymmetrical and he didn't want to screw up the moment with his idiocies._

"_Maka-chan... How would you like to climb up to the top of those mountains with me?"_

_Maka sighed, a tad disappointed, but rolled off of him, laying beside him with a small smile on her face._

"_Kiddo-kun..." She stroked his chin with the tip of her finger, staring up into his eyes. "That's insane... We could get killed..."_

_Kid laughed a bit, shrugging as he met her gaze easily._

"_Nothing is impossible when it comes to our partnership, Maka. We can accomplish anything we want to here. We can practice our combat skills, learn new stances and techniques that other meisters and their weapons never thought up yet, and even more..." He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against hers. "We don't have to worry anymore. We can live for an eternity here without anything coming at us."_

_Maka giggled, taking Kid's pale hands in her slightly tanned ones._

"_Now you're just being silly... It sounds so beautiful, but... I'll miss everyone too much..." She frowned a bit but Kid's chuckle cheered her up a bit._

"_Maka, Look around you..."_

_She sat up and looked around, seeing a large waterfall she failed to manage to see before, her eyes widening. At the top of that waterfall, stood Soul and Blackstar, who were laughing at the girls below. _

"_Stop being a bunch of girls!"_

"_WE ARE THE ALPHA MALES!"_

_Liz smiled mischievously, crossing her arms over her chest as her, Patty, and Tsubaki swam in the waters below the waterfall. She exchanged glances with the girls and Patty giggled while Tsubaki smiled a bit; unsure._

"_Get 'em back down!"_

_Soul's eyes widened in fear and he shook Blackstar slightly as the girls got out their shoes._

"_Oh Christ, Blackstar! They're gonna get us!"_

_Blackstar was too busy posing and laughing at the top of his lungs._

"_I AM THE GREAT BLACKSTAR! NOBODY SHALL EVER SURPASS MY PURE GOD-LIKE WILL! HAHAHA!"_

_Liz threw his shoe at Blackstar first and he gasped and slipped, falling down the waterfall and crashing into the water with a painful scream. Patty laughed as did the other girls._

"_Soul, you're next!"_

_Maka's eyes welled with tears and she rubbed at her emerald eyes._

"_Blackstar? Soul? Tsubaki? Liz?" She cupped her face, smiling and crying tears of joy._

_Kid sat up, wrapping an arm around her._

"_See? You don't have to be alone ever again... Stay with us."_

_Maka giggled, looking up at him, but her eyes widened when he wasn't there. She looked around and noticed everything else was gone as well. _

_...It was the battlefield._

_People screamed, burned, and fell dead around her, the scent of rotten flesh and iron strong in the air. The once clear blue sky blistered into darkness as fire smoke rose throughout the air. Her feet burned and she screamed a bit, scurrying away from the flame her feet had sat in, her back bumping into somebody. She looked over her shoulder to see her own mother, Kami, staring down at her with blood dripping down her face._

"_Why didn't you tell me about Papa, Maka? If you would've told me, Mama wouldn't have cried as hard..."_

_Maka had a scream caught in her throat as she stared up at her mother, who had the shadow of her face upon her features._

"_Mama!" Maka screamed and Kami grew sharp teeth, her eyes crimson with hate as she lunged downwards towards her daughter. Maka screwed her eyes shut, holding an arm up to block her face, but instead felt warm blood spurt on her. Opening one eye, she looked in sheer terror as Spirit stood in front of her protectively, Kami's arms bloodied and through his torso. Maka bit her lower lip, got up, and ran as fast as she could away._

"_No!" She screamed, holding each side of her head as she saw flashes of the people around her. Their dull eyes, limp bodies, bloodied and burned skin..._

_She screamed again, digging her nails into her skull._

"_I'm tired of this! Please! Stop!" _

_Maka looked up to see that in place of the mountains, was a tall cliff-side. She watched as her late friends and Patty crowded up around Professor Stein, their eyes unusually filled with hatred as well as crimson darkness. Stein smiled at them, his smile filled with pure insanity as he ripped out his screw, blood gushing everywhere as he threw the screw over his shoulder. Blood ran down Stein's face, coating the lenses of his glasses._

"_Now class... Shall I... teach you how to kill?"_

_Soul grinned deviously, his eyes black and rotten to the core._

"_That's what we're here for, Hakase..."_

_Stein chuckled and stepped to the side, showing that Kid was standing on the edge of the cliff, his eyes blind folded. His hands were cuffed behind him and his clothes were torn, exposing bloodied skin filled with stitch-able cuts._

_He was like a helpless animal on show._

_Maka could only watch with wide eyes, her jaw slack in fear. She began to run up the grassy hill that led to the very top of the hill._

_Patty giggled, stepping forward and Stein pat her shoulder._

"_You can do it, Patty... Demonstrate..."_

_Patty smiled deviously, sharp teeth protruding in odd angles from her mouth. She tugged the blindfold off over Kid's closed eyes. He appeared to be asleep. Maka forced herself to run faster._

"_KID! WAKE UP!"_

_Kid's eyes opened and she was shocked to see the golden in his eyes melt away like tears down his pale cheeks and blood dripping their way down his face to replace the natural shinigami color. _

"_...M...Maka-san...?"_

_His eyes widened and he staggered slightly with a small scream as he kept his balance, the rocks at his feet crumbling to the ground hundreds of feet below._

"_...What the Hell!"_

_He looked at Maka frantically over his shoulder as Patty gave him a shove, him disappearing from Maka's sight. She stopped running, screaming as he fell._

"_NO!"_

_Maka screwed her eyes shut and before Kid hit the ground..._

Maka jerked awake with a strangled scream, arching her back as tears fell down her cheeks.

"AHH! KID!"

Marie and Sid jerked awake but Kid remained asleep behind the curtain pulled around his bed. The two teachers stood up, Sid limping and Marie rushing over to Maka.

Maka hugged her knees to her chest as she sat up, sobbing uncontrollably.

"NO!"

Marie pulled Maka into her arms and Maka screamed into her shoulder, clutching onto her as if her life depended on it.

"Get me out of here, Marie! I'm going insane!" She sobbed.

Marie soothingly rubbed her back, stroking her hair.

"Shhshhshhshhshh... breathe..."

Maka did as she was told, sobbing and shuddering.

Sid watched with his hands in his pockets, feeling sympathy and disgust in himself. He wanted nothing else but to tell her that Kid was alive and that everything would be fine because he was close. But it wasn't the right thing to do... was it?

Maka shook violently, biting her lower lip.

"Kid..." She whimpered, closing her eyes.

Spirit and Stein ran out of the Death Room when they heard Maka's screams, running down the corridors to the infirmary. They burst through the door and Marie and Sid looked up at them over their shoulders as Maka got out of bed, with a small sorrow filled scream as she ran into her father's arms, digging her face into his chest. She felt too afraid to look at Stein, afraid that the screw wouldn't be there and that she'd be looking into cold, dead eyes...

**...O.O That was dark, even for me. Hope this doesn't give you nightmares... ^^; Have a habit of doing that to people... kesesese~...?**


	10. Chapter 9 The Fall

Spirit's eyes widened as his beloved daughter continued to weep into his shirt; dampening it with her warm tears.

"I'm a horrible, horrible person!" She shrieked. "I'm a terrible excuse for a dependable weapon partner! I!" Her body wracked with sobs again and she clutched onto the back of her father's shirt. "I let him die! I let Kiddo-kun die! I should've been protecting him! I should've been watching how Valencia's power was reacting with his soul so he wouldn't die! It's all my damn fault!" She wailed.

Spirit frowned, furrowing his eyebrows in sympathy for the pain his daughter was experiencing, and wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her closer.

"Papa's here, sweetheart..." He whispered, massaging her back in small soothing circles with his thumbs. "Calm down..."

The four adults stood and stared at Maka in worry; all feeling heart wrenching guilt in their hearts. They all continued to stand, allowing the teenage girl to cry and yell at herself until the only sounds she made were shudders and sniffles.

Stein sighed slightly and rested his hand on top of her head to comfort her but she yelped and jumped away, slamming against the medical cabinets, her tear filled eyes wide in fear while his were wide in confusion. Bottles of medicine and glass fell everywhere from where her back slammed and the other adults flinched.

"Monster!" She screamed in his face, covering her own as she wept, falling to her knees.

Stein stared at her in both surprise and slight hurt, raising an eyebrow.

"Maka..."

Spirit looked at Stein and sighed, pulling his broken daughter into his arms.

Maka stared at the front of her father's shirt with wide, quivering eyes.

"Are you... Are you hurt, papa?"

Spirit's eyes filled with confusion.

"What? I'm fine, sweetheart. Nothing is wrong..."

Sid and Marie exchanged glances.

"Spirit, Stein... Should we go fetch Patty?" Marie asked.

Maka shook her head quickly, screwing her eyes shut.

"No! Don't! I don't want to see her like that!"

Sid flinched and Marie held a hand to her chest.

"I'm going to go tell Lord Death she's awake and breathing then. Marie, you can tell Patty that she's alright." Sid muttered.

Stein looked over at Sid over his shoulder, putting his hands in his pants pockets.

"Are you certain you won't need help walking down the hall?"

Sid nodded and walked around the room with a slight limp to prove it. Spirit sighed.

"You can go then."

Sid looked down at Maka for a moment and then he limped out the door.

Marie kissed Maka's forehead gently, caressing her hair lightly.

"Cheer up soon, Miss Albarn. That's an order." She smiled a bit and turned from them, walking out the door after Sid.

After a moment of silence, Stein rested a hand on Spirit's shoulder and the red-head looked up at him.

"Senpai, She needs medicine to calm down, seeing as nothing else works. Perhaps a stress relief pill?"

Spirit blinked and sighed, resting his head on top of Maka's.

"As long as it helps her feel better. That's all I care about."

Stein made his way up to a cupboard that was beside Kid's bed and stopped beside it, figuring that he may as well check on Kid while he got the pill. He quietly peaked in around the curtain and saw the gentle rise and fall of Kid's chest as he slept. Smiling a bit, he closed the curtain a bit more and opened the cupboard, retrieving the bottle that held the pills. While he was at it, he grabbed a glass off the counter and filled it with water. Stein walked back to the Albarn duo and bent down in front of them, handing the glass and a single pill to Spirit.

Spirit thanked him and placed the pill up to Maka's lips. Maka allowed it into her mouth and Spirit pressed the glass to her lips and she drank the pill down. She grasped the glass on her own in time and greedily drank the rest of the water. Once the glass was empty, she handed it back to her father, still refusing to look up at Stein.

"Papa..." She breathed.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Spirit asked gently.

"Is it possible that I can go back home now?"

Spirit looked up at Stein, raising an eyebrow.

"Can she?"

Stein blinked but nodded, straightening his glasses.

"She may, but she must stay for a few minutes longer so that the pill may take effect."

…:oOo:...

Patty sat in Stein's empty classroom on the table of one of the many rows of desks, her legs dangling back and forth. Her heart was still beating fast and her adrenaline levels were still pretty high. She blinked her tears away, holding the hot chocolate Death had given her to her stomach in an attempt to calm herself. She was scared. She didn't want to lose anyone else in her life. Maka was the only friend she had left. Patty whimpered and lowered her head, her hairs wet from where the snowflakes had melted. She heard the door creak open and looked up to see Marie step in. Patty got up from where she sat and wrapped her arms around her favorite teacher, breathing heavily. Marie's eyes shot open, wide in surprise, but she didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around Patty in return.

"Please tell me she's okay!" Patty breathed, closing her eyes.

Marie let out a low breath and stroked Patty's wet hair, smiling down at her reassuringly.

"Yes. She's just fine Patty."

Patty smiled and began to cry again in relief, hugging Marie all the tighter, causing Marie to hug her tighter as well.

Meanwhile, Death stood in the Death Room patiently, speaking to Justin from his mirror.

"So, Kid isn't really dead?" Justin asked so he knew for sure, his crossed firmly in front of him. He was walking outside, apparently in a forest, with Yumi walking beside him.

"No." Death re-established, clad in his usual gear again.

"And there is a ancient still in existence?"

"Yes."

Yumi gently took the hand-held mirror away from her lover and looked at Death, her glasses gleaming.

"Do you have any leads as to where the ancient is in hiding?" She asked.

"No, that's where you two come in. It's alive; we know that much." Death shrugged.

Justin was about to put his skull ear plugs back in until Yumi slapped them out his hands and shook her head at him with a small smile.

"No, Justin. Now isn't really a good time to be listening to music."

Justin pouted slightly and Yumi sighed, looking back at Death, straightening her glasses.

"This search would probably take up to months if it were regular searchers. We're glad you decided to call us, we were running out of things to do."

"Oh?" Death asked, amusement in his tone.

Yumi instantly turned a dark shade of red and quickly shook her head. Justin just smiled knowingly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Lord Death!" Yumi exclaimed.

Death just chuckled, waving a large hand at them.

"I know, I know. I was just messing with you Yumi." He lowered his hand and his voice took to a serious tone. "Anyway, back to business. Please get here as soon as possible, or Kid will turn."

"Yes sir. That's a promise." Justin spoke, tapping the surface of the mirror Yumi was currently holding, and their images zapped off of Lord Death's mirror, which was fixed thanks to it's ability to heal. It was a shinigami mirror, after all.

He let out a sigh and turned just in time to see Sid limp inside, closing the wide doors behind him.

"Sid! I trust that Maka is in a good condition now, correct?"

Sid took in a deep breath despite the fact that he no longer needed to breathe and shrugged.

"Yes and no, sir. She woke up healthy but she also woke up from a nightmare. Her stress levels are rocketing."

Lord Death raised an eyebrow underneath his mask and waddled his way to Sid, now standing in front of him.

"How so?"

"Well, she awoke screaming and she freaked out at everything. I'm also guessing that she no longer trusts Stein."

Lord Death sighed and pulled off his mask carefully, looking down at Sid.

"I wouldn't either if I were in her place. After all, she _did_ catch Stein digging in Kid's empty grave."

"True."

A moment of silence passed through the both of them.

"Anything from Kid?" Death asked to break the silence and to settle down the worry he also had for his son.

Sid blinked and turned his attention back to Death for he had been staring into space.

"He's still unconscious. That blood must've taken a big effect on him."

"Also true. Judging from his appearance, the blood is already slowly taking it's effect on his system. It's too late for treatment. So, all we can really do now is sit and wait for his sanity to disappear." Death's voice cracked at the end of his sentence and his bit back whimpers.

Sid's eyes widened and he felt his limbs freeze.

"Wait, so there's nothing we can do?"

"Besides killing this ancient bastard, yes, there is nothing we can really do to save him."

Back in Stein's empty classroom, Patty and Marie sat at Patty's original place before Marie had entered.

"...What kind of nightmares had Maka been having since Kid died?" Marie asked her curiously.

Patty stayed silence for a while before she spoke.

"She never told me. Whenever I asked, she'd lock herself up and refuse to speak about any of it. But what I do know is that she had dreams about Kid dying over and over again in front of her and that she couldn't do anything about it."

Marie blinked, the two of them going silent for a while. It appeared that Valencia had changed everyone after the battle. But the one she had really effected the most had been Maka. She wrapped her arms around Patty and closed her eyes.

"You're a wonderful person, Patricia. You must be a super hero in Maka's eyes."

Patty giggled a bit, wiping at her eyes.

"You really think so...?"

Marie smiled and lightly poked Patty's nose.

"I know so." She whispered.

In the infirmary, Spirit was helping Maka stand back up since the weapon - meister hybrid was calming down.

Stein glanced over his shoulder at the curtained bed when Maka wasn't looking to see if there were any disruptions coming from Kid. None so far.

Spirit took off his coat and wrapped it around his daughter.

"You'll probably need this. It's cold out."

Maka tried to give it back but Spirit kept putting it back upon her shoulders.

"Papa, I'll be fine."

"I insist." Spirit spoke firmly, staring her in the eyes. She furrowed her eyebrows stubbornly but after a while, her emerald eyes softened and she nodded, allowing her father to put it back on her.

Stein watched the father and daughter, deep in thought. For the first time, he wondered what it could've been like to be a father. He was surprised he hadn't considered the idea before. A small smile formed on his face and he lowered his gaze to the ground.

"_It probably won't be so bad... Having a child with the same features as I... Having a child with the same personality as their mother..._" He thought to himself, looking back up at them once he heard footsteps. Spirit looked over at Stein but Maka still didn't dare look at him.

"Stein, I'm going to take Maka to Patty and Marie and have Patty take her back home. I'll come back soon, alright?"

Stein simply nodded and the Albarns left the infirmary. He used this moment alone to check on Kid. He walked up to the side of Kid's bed and withdrew the curtains halfway, in case someone walked in.

Kid was still breathing normally, but he looked weakened. Stein sighed and gently pressed his fingertips against Kid's forehead, feeling that the boy's body had grown quite cold. He closed his eyes to check the soul only to see complete darkness. His eyes shot open and he flinched back when he felt the overwhelming madness stir within Kid.

"I... I must wake him up..." He muttered to himself and gently put his hands on Kid's shoulders, shaking him a bit. "Kid!" He yelled as quietly as he could so the Albarns down the hall couldn't hear. Kid stirred a bit but didn't wake up. Stein sighed desperately and tried again. "Kid! Wake up!"

Kid jerked awake, his eyes going wide, and nearly punched Stein across the jaw with his sudden surprise.

Stein jumped back from Kid's swinging fist and Kid sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"The hell, Stein?" the young reaper growled under his breath.

Stein sighed in relief and attempted to feel Kid's forehead again, only to get shoved across the room.

"Don't you touch me! Answer my question! What the hell happened?"

The professor closed his eyes as his back slammed up against the wall, a small grunt escaping his lips.

The world wasn't kind to him today.

"Kid... If you had kept sleeping, you'd be in a world of pain right now." He took off his glasses and dusted them off on his shirt. Kid stared suspiciously at the stitched labcoat wrapped around him as Stein took a deep breath. "Back in the cemetery, where those kishins were attacking- you don't remember, do you?"

Kid blinked and thought for a moment. After a while, he slowly shook his head.

"Hakase... All I remember is that we went to the cemetery to stop them and that the main kishin dropped something... Everything else is hazy..." He muttered and looked back up at him as he spoke again.

"Well, Kid, after that happened, you stood there, as if you were nothing more than a mere statue, as Ancient blood flowed throughout your system, drowning every inch of black blood inside you. If Medusa were still alive, she would kill to have you to replace Crona as her son. You'd be the perfect weapon."

Kid furrowed his eyebrows and parted his pale lips to speak until Stein interrupted him.

"But. We have yet to find this Ancient and to make its sinful line as extinct as we had originally thought before. After its death, your father expects you to be safe from becoming something you aren't."

Kid stared at the Professor for a while before looking back down at the labcoat.

"Ancient... hm?" He whispered, closing his eyes as he ran his fingers along the stitches. "Well... At least my appearances are prepared for it."

Stein slowly shook his head.

Maka held onto her father's arm as her system began to calm, closing her eyes to allow Spirit to lead her throughout the Dwma to Stein's classroom, where Patty and Marie had been sitting.

"Papa...?"

Spirit flinched when the silence between them was broken, but was a bit overjoyed that Maka had been calling her Papa the way she used to when she was just a little girl.

"Yes, Maka?"

Silence once more.

"... Do you think its my fault? For Kid-kun's death?"

Now it was Spirit's turn to be silent for a moment.

"Of course not!" He looked at her, seeing her head bowed. "You didn't know! You tried! I saw you try! Stop blaming yourself!"

Maka sniffled.

"Papa, I killed him!"

"No! You didn't!" Spirit took a hold of Maka's shoulders. "Don't you dare think for a second, Maka. He loved you!"

"And I betrayed him!" Maka screamed suddenly, tears running freely from her eyes.

Marie and Patty rushed out of the classroom and Marie looked at the two with worried eyes.

"Is everyone alright? What's wrong?"

Patty had never seen Maka act this way since Kid died and she took a step forward to hold Maka's arm, but Maka slapped it away, causing Patty to step back in surprise, holding her now stinging hand to her chest.

Maka bit her lower lip, shaking her head.

"I'm wrong. That's what."

Spirit furrowed his eyebrows.

"Maka!"

She took off running down the hall as fast as she could, leaving everyone else behind. This was a perfect time... to do what she had been wanting since Kid died.

Kid felt as if something wrong was about to occur... Maka. He got out of bed and Stein's labcoat fluttered to the ground around his feet.

Stein raised an eyebrow, taking a step forward.

"Kid? I'd recommend that you get back in bed right now. You need to rest so that the Ancient blood's effect would slow."

Kid shook his head, looking up at Stein. Stein's eyes widened in surprise when he saw a flicker of gold within them.

"Screw Ancient blood." He ran out of the infirmary and Stein tore off after him.

"Kid! Stop!"

As Maka continued to run, she heard running footsteps behind her as Spirit, Marie, and Patty tore off after her.

"Maka! What are you doing?" Marie called out while Spirit's face was twisted in worry. Patty bit her trembling lower lip.

Maka ignored them and ran out onto the highest balcony the school had outside, stopping at the railing.

"_Please forgive me, everyone... Please forgive me... Kid..._"

Kid kept running, ignoring the pain of his legs screaming up at him to slow. He felt his blood pumping rapidly through his system. He breathed heavily, his raven colored bangs mixing with the white stripes in his hair.

Stein, too, was panting as he continued to run after him. He knew he had no choice but to keep going.

Sid looked up at Lord Death.

"How much time do you think we have left, Death? Until he turns...?" He whispered.

Lord Death closed his eyes under his mask.

"I don't know, Sid. But all I know is that it won't be long."

Maka saw that the three who had been chasing after her were far down the hall and knew she had time. She hoisted herself up onto the balcony railing, standing on it.

"MAKA! NO!" Spirit screamed, his eyes filling with tears.

"NO!" Patty screamed as well, stretching an arm out towards her despite the distance.

"Sid... All I hope for... Is that he may be happy again. That's all I've wanted from the start. But now... as I look more into it... It seems as if we'd made his pain worse. By keeping him away from his last link to this world. Keeping him away from _his_ world." Lord Death removed the mask and the two began to walk together out of the Death Room silently.

"Lord Death, tell me exactly what you are planning." Sid demanded.

There was a moment of silence.

"Well... Since he doesn't have long... He deserves to be with her with the time he has left. He'd want nothing more than that."

Kid heard screams up ahead and willed himself wot go fast, his limbs hurting. His feet were burning with pain and his chest ached.

"MAKA! NO!"

When Kid heard those words yelled out, he found the strength in him to go onward.

Stein heard as well and his eyes went wide.

Lord Death and Sid stepped out of the room just in time to see Kid and Stein run past.

Lord Death suddenly had a dull feeling in his chest that something wrong was about to occur as well. Sid chased after them without a thought. Just instinct that Kid could be seen by anybody at any moment.

Maka kicked off her boots and watched as they fell from the balcony to their sudden stop. It was a long way down. She slowly turned and so she can see how far Spirit and the others were. They watched in fear and charged.

Maka smiled and closed her eyes.

"I'm tired of running..."

Kid pressed forward and was catching up with Spirit, Marie, and Patty.

"I'm tired of waking up every night wanting to die..."

Lord Death slipped off his cloak and mask and began to run as well.

"I'm sorry, Kid. I'm coming..." She whispered and leaned back, beginning to fall from the railing.

Kid ran past the others and they all stared in surprise. Patty was shocked.

Kid made it to the door that lead out and when Maka fell, he launched himself forward over the railing after her.

All of them stopped, including Stein and Sid. They stood at the railing, looking over it to see Kid falling towards Maka. Lord Death caught up with them and stared down in surprise as well.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion.

Kid reached out towards her, wrapping his arms around her body. Maka's emerald eyes shot open in surprise but widened when she saw that it was Kid holding her. He smiled slightly.

"I'm here, Maka. Please don't cry anymore."

Maka let out a small gasp and tears welled in her eyes.

As they neared the ground, Maka screwed her eyes shut and Kid held her even tighter to his chest, making it so that he was the one to hit the ground instead of her.

Before his body can make contact, everything went white and Maka's body went limp as she lost consciousness for the second time that night.


	11. Chapter 10 Reunions and Concerns

_In. Out. Light. Dark. Alive. Dead. Cold. Warm._

Maka felt all of those things at once in the midst of her unconsciousness. She expected another dream, only to be greeted with the sweet embrace of darkness. A darkness that adorned only three beams of light. Golden light. As she was in and out of consciousness, she heard the muffled voices of people talking. They hadn't seemed familiar at first, but soon, she was able to make it out.

"..._Will she be alright?_"

"_Oh, she'll be just fine..._"

"_What about... him?_"

Chuckling.

"_He healed quite quickly... though... it appeared to be a painful process. Ribs cracking in place, bruises seeping back into pale skin. But he's alright now_."

"_Which reminds me. Where did he go again, Stein?_"

When Maka came to the conclusion that the other voice was indeed Stein's, her breathing was all she heard above everything else, and darkness replaced her blurred vision.

_In. Out. In..._

Maka felt a cold chill rush over her and her eyes opened slightly, the blurred vision returning as well as her hearing.

"_Maka... Maka...? Are you alright...?_"

"_Please wake up. Please._"

"_Just let her be... She's been through quite a bit for the past few days._"

"_I know. I'm just so worried..._"

Maka's eyes fluttered closed and once again, her own breathing and darkness washed over her.

_Light. Dark. Light..._

She tried to escape it. She wanted so much to be awake... But the darkness was like a hungry, sticky parasite that kept tugging her back down. It wanted her as much as she wanted to awake. She felt as if she was being smothered by a large, black sheet. It blocked her mouth from inhaling air and she felt her lungs begin to burn. Maka struggled and struggled.

_Alive. Dead. Alive..._

Her emerald eyes shot open and she can see everything clearly, her senses returning to her. Said eyes frantically looked around the room and her breathing increased, coming out from her lips in short, strangled pants. A light sheen of sweat coated her body and she shivered, closing her eyes as she tried to calm her ragged breathing. She was so glad that she was awake...

_Cold..._

"Maka."

_...Warm._

Maka felt a warm hand on her shoulder and it gave her a pleasant feeling. She slowly reopened her eyes and her lips parted a bit.

"...Ye-yeah...?" Her voice was raspy and her throat hurt. She was in dire need of water. She has never wanted water so much in her whole life at that moment.

"Over here."

Maka looked over to the side to see Stein who was holding a glass of water out to her. She saw that on the opposite side of her, it was her father who rested a hand on her shoulder. Spirit smiled at her, relief flashing through his pale blue eyes.

"I'm so happy you woke up..." He pulled her up to him and wrapped his arms around her tightly. Maka, using one arm to hug her father and the other to grab the glass of water offered, giggling slightly.

"...I'm happy too."

Once her father let go, she pressed the edge of the glass to her lips, allowing the water to flow into her mouth and down her throat. She enjoyed the icy sensation as the liquid substance trickled down her esophagus and further down. She then gave the glass back to Stein, looking up at him questionably.

"...Who... who brought me here?" She asked, her words echoing the same she had spoken long ago, in the same bed, and in the same room, to the same person.

The Professor smiled and looked at the door, which began to open.

"... Death the Kid brought you here."

Maka's breath caught in her throat and her eyes trailed over to the one who stepped in, her eyes widening.

Standing there, in the doorway, was the golden-eyed reaper himself, smiling at her happily.

"Hello, Maka-"

Maka cut him off with a loud scream and she hopped out of bed, running up to him, and threw herself into his waiting arms, wrapping her own around his neck.

"Kid!" She screamed again, resting her head in the crook of his neck. Kid wrapped his arms around her, holding her to his chest tightly as she cried happily, her tears of joy running down her face heavily.

He received his golden eyes back for the price of saving a life, which added not purity to his non-existent soul, but to his well-being. But this touch of purity he had earned will not be able to cure the beast growing inside him.

Stein and Spirit stared in awe, feeling the guilt simply lift off their shoulders like a pile of bricks.

"How-How did you- How are you-?" Maka stuttered shakily, blinking repeatedly to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Kid smiled, tears welling in his eyes as he looked down into her own emerald green, brushing strands of hair out of her tear-stained face.

"...Maka. I was never really dead to begin with." He whispered, caressing her cheek gently. He didn't wish to get too detailed with the process of his revival at a special moment such as this one. Maka closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. And then she remembered what had happened. Kid saved her. She re-opened her eyes and smiled up at him gratefully.

Lord Death stepped into the infirmary, tapping on Kid's shoulder. He looked up at his father in surprise. Death, wearing nothing but a nicely tailored suit and shiny shoes, smiled at the two of them.

"...Are you two happy?" He asked, hope lingering in the tone he used. He arranged for the two of them to reunite. He could've simply erased Maka's memories of Kid saving her, but he wouldn't want that for her. Besides, he didn't wish for Kid to hold a powerful, stress-filled grudge over him. Death didn't want to risk Kid's sanity to go over the edge of madness too soon. But the main reason why he did this for the both of them, for _everyone_, was because it would help slow down the process of Kid turning into a monster.

Maka hugged Kid to her even tighter, looking up at Death with the biggest smile she has ever worn in years since the times before her parents had divorced.

"...Yes." She whispered.

Kid nodded, resting his head on top of Maka's.

"Yes. Thank you, father."

Death's smile grew and he let out a happy chuckle under his breath. The main reason why he chose not to keep them apart furthermore, was for the sake of both Kid and Maka. Maka's wavelength had a positive effect on Kid and can lessen the effects of the Ancient blood surging throughout his body. This peculiar situation was similar to a time in the past, when Stein kept Marie by his side to slow down the effects of the madness he had caused by Medusa herself. Death also knew that if he kept Maka away from Kid any longer, she wouldn't hesitate to take her own life. The occurrence earlier that day scared the living daylights out of everyone; Stein, Spirit, Sid, Marie, Patty, and himself. But it scared Kid most, and Death was glad he was there when he was.

"Its no problem at all." Death's eyes flickered to Maka and the expression on his face turned apologetic. "..I... I'm sorry for keeping this from you as long as I did. Please forgive me."

Maka unwounded one arm from Kid's neck and rested it on Death's shoulder, causing his eyes to widen slightly at the contact.

"Shinigami-sama... You brought Kid back to me. That's all that matters to me now. You're already forgiven."

Death couldn't help but grin, seeing the happiness return to Maka's features. He looked up to Stein and Spirit, who were still watching the two in awe.

"Stein. Spirit."  
>The two adults' ears perked up to the sounds of their names and they looked up to their boss instantly. Death motioned for them to come closer to him and when they had, he brought his voice down to a whisper.<p>

"Justin and Yumi should be here any minute now. Please wait for them outside the academy and alert me when they arrive. If it isn't any problem at all."

Stein shook his head while Spirit spoke, "No, not at all my Lord."

Death nodded once and stepped to the side to allow the two to walk out the door. He then turned to the two teens beside him, his eyes lighting up at the sight.

Kid and Maka looked up at him questionably.

Death closed his eyes and bowed his head respectably.

"I'll be leaving the two of you alone now. But be warned: Sid will be here at some point to take you two to Marie and Patty. Patty has been a nervous wreck lately. But the current twist of events a few hours ago put her into full panic mode." He chuckled a bit. "So I'll be careful when you two meet up with her again if I were you."

Kid and Maka nodded at him and Death turned, walking out of the room with a light hum under his breath, closing the door after him. After a moment of watching after him, Kid and Maka slowly turned their gazes to each other. Maka couldn't help but let out another happy scream as she clutched him close to her tightly, for the fear that this may all be another dream. Kid kissed her neck and tightened his arms around her, taking in the scent that was Maka. He was sure that if he had a normal heart beat, it would be oozing and squeezing with joy.

"Oh my god, I missed you so much..." He heard Maka whisper, the sound of more tears coming evadable in her voice. His smile grew a bit upon hearing that and he gently pulled away just enough to peer down into her eyes, wiping the fresh tears away with his thumbs. She peered back up as she heard Kid chuckle slightly.

"...And I missed you..." He whispered in response, leaning forward to quickly capture Maka's lips with his own. Oh, how he missed this feeling; her lips moving against his in perfect sync, the warmth spreading from their lips to make every nerve in his body tingle in delight. They didn't pull apart for a while, only slightly to take in much needed breaths of air before pressing their lips together once again. Maka lifted her hands up and weaved them into Kid's hair carefully, as to not mess it up in a way he wouldn't want. He laughed against her lips and pulled her body closer to his own as they finally parted from their little kissing session. Kid's smile had grown twice as wide since before. A deep crimson blush colored Maka's cheeks and she wore an equally as wide smile, just looking up into Kid's eyes. Kid's hands gently grasped Maka's own and he laughed once more. He felt so very alive by her side, but knew that deep down, deep within him, he was a dead being, waiting to throb and explode at any lost moment of self-control. Those thoughts were quickly pushed aside though as Maka led him to the bed she had been in just fifteen minutes before, sitting down upon it with Kid easing down beside her. For a while, neither of them spoke. Just holding each others hand tightly.

"...Kid." Maka finally spoke up, not taking her eyes off of him. His gaze held hers and lit up when she spoke his name.

"Yes, Maka?"

"You never really..." She looked away for a moment before looking back up at him. "...explained to me of the cause. Of your return, I mean." She felt embarrassed to ask; afraid that it was too much of a touchy topic to him at the moment.

Kid took a deep breath and gazed ahead of him, giving Maka's hand a brief squeeze before he spoke.

"It's a long story to tell." He looked back at her and smirked. "...You may end up falling asleep." He teased, the memories of Soul and Black*Star sleeping in class flashing through both of their heads. Maka laughed slightly and rested her free hand on Kid's knee, capturing his gaze once more. Her eyes were pleading, yet the small smile on her face still lingered.

"Please tell me..." She whispered in way that told Kid that he didn't have to if he didn't want to. Kid leaned forward and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before pulling away and looking into her eyes again.

"Alright." His features softened and he caressed her cheek with the back of his own free hand. "...If that is what you wish."

…:oOo:...

Stein and Spirit walked side by side down the hallway, silence basking in all its glory in the air around them. Once during their journey through the Dwma's corridors, Stein offered a cigarette, but Spirit rejected it kindly. And once more, they were in complete silence with the exceptions of the sounds of their footsteps.

Stein let out a small sigh, placing his hands into the pockets of his lab coat.

"Spirit, out of curiosity..."

At the sound of the word 'curiosity' escaping Stein's mouth, Spirit's gaze quickly snapped to Stein, filled with fear.

"Yes? What is it that you're curious about, Stein?" He asked quickly.

Stein couldn't help but laugh at the sheer fear written on his partner's face, his eyes gleaming with smug glee.

"Its not what you're thinking, Senpai." He spoke brightly to reassure him. But it did little to erase the look on Spirit's face. Spirit cleared his throat.

"Then... What is it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Stein withdrew one of his hands from one of the pockets of his lab coat to pull the cigarette out from between his lips, exhaling a small cloud of smoke.

"Senpai... What is it like having children?"

Spirit's eyes widened and he nearly choked on his own spit. Nope. He definitely didn't expect to hear a question like _that _escape his former meister's lips. Furthermore, he was surprised that Stein hadn't even considered the idea before.

"Wh-what?" He gasped.

Stein didn't even bother looking at the flabbergasted expression on his face.

"You heard me."

The two of them turned a corner. Still, Spirit couldn't believe it, his jaw hanging close to an inch lower.

"...Haven't you even thought about it?"

Stein shook his head, the screw protruding from the side of it gleaming with the movement.

"No, I haven't. I've been too busy with other things; that you may already be well aware of. But, to be quite frank with you, I've never even remotely considered the idea. The ideas of having a child were merely erased from my mind until recently. I saw the way you treated Maka, like she was your only exception. And I saw the way Death treated Kid with worry. Since then I thought to myself... Would it hurt to have at least _one_ at some point in my life?"

Spirit felt absolutely speechless by this time. His throat felt dry and strained, as if his voice picked up and ran away from him, tripping in its haste. When he finally found his voice after a moment, he spoke.

"Well... If you really want to know how it feels... It could be... Quite stressful at times. You never know what kind of situations they can get themselves in, and you never actually know any way to help them get _out_ of it. There are certain things that children do that may anger you as a parent, but in the end, all is forgiven, and broken pieces are picked up off the floor and put back into place. There may be a few cracks in it afterward, but at least its still put firmly back together. There are also certain things that they do that can make you so overwhelmingly proud, you can't help but at least shed a few happy tears." Spirit shook his head with a small smile and by now, Stein had his attention on him. "That's not even the best part, Stein. When you hear that you'll be a father for the first time... The mixed feelings you receive are pleasant. There's fear, anxiety, happiness, excitement- by the time they are all written out, it can take up a whole notebook. By the time your wife would feel the baby start to move... God, you'll be so _jealous_ of her. You'd be so jealous of the fact that she can feel every movement of it while you can feel nothing but a firm kick or two, if you are touching her stomach just right. When the baby is born though... when you see it for the first time... It will be so beautiful. Seeing your traits and the traits of the woman you love fit together so perfectly like that... you'd just cry." Spirit looked back up at Stein to see that he was avoiding Spirit's gaze, breathing in the fumes of his cigarette.

"...That's... rather intense, Spirit."

Spirit nodded and put a hand on Stein's shoulder, gripping it slightly.

"Trust me, it is." The expression on his face turned into one of surprise when he heard Stein begin to laugh somewhat nervously.

"...I don't think I'll be having kids anytime soon."

Spirit found himself begin to laugh along with Stein, patting his shoulder.

"Take your time, take your time."

The two of them walked out the two front doors and out into the cold air of the night outside, their breaths becoming visible as snow fell around them. They stopped at the top of the stairs, staring down into the city surrounding the academy.

…:oOo:...

"-hence why I am here today. All of the events that had occurred, everything you and Patty have seen of me, must remain a secret. You can't tell anyone else." Kid finished explaining everything, and by now, Maka's eyes were captured in deep interest, yet concern.

"So, you have black blood coursing within you because of one of a deal your father made with Professor Stein... And... an _Ancient _wants you to become a kishin? Do you have any idea what for?"

Kid sighed and shook his head, running pale fingers through his raven-colored hair.

"I'm afraid not. The reason still remains a mystery to everyone, even to my father. But if I were asked to guess, I would say that this Ancient wants it for the show."

Maka shook her head, her decent pigtails dangling with the motion, the expression on her face serious.

"I highly doubt its even that. What if this being is planning something-"

"-dangerous, horrible, terrible, god-awful...?" Kid finished for her gently upon seeing the features upon Maka's face twist in a certain way, as if she was about to think of a word to describe what she was getting at. Maka merely nodded, resting her head on Kid's shoulder.

"All of the above... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about what could happen..."

Kid looked at her out of the corner of his eyes and he leaned forward, pecking her on the forehead.

"Well... If I were you... I wouldn't dwell on it. My father knows what he's doing. The Ancient will be killed before I go corrupt." If Maka had been looking close to his eyes, she would've seen a glimmer of crimson flash across golden.

**I apologize for the wait. ^^" I've been stressed lately, since I start freshman year this year in high school. New school new teachers. I don't know anything. TAT Not to mention that I have other stories to update and such and I've been brain dead in the sort. So, I hope this can tide you through for at least another month or so. :/**


End file.
